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American   Citizenship  ; 


THE    RIGHT    OF     SUFFRAGE    IN    THE 
UNITED   vSTATES.    ^ 


By     TALIESIN     EVANS, 


[editors'  edition.] 


y4>   0»  THE 

'uriwhvsitt; 


Tribune   Print, 

Oakland,  Cal. 
1892. 


CONTENTS. 


/? 


j       American  Citizenship i 

^  I.— Federai.  Citizenship     ....  2 

}  II.— State  Citizenship      .  .         .  .  .        54 

V    The  Right  of  Suffrage        ....  61 

ij  I.— Voting  Qualifications  in  the  Severai.  States  85 

/  II. — Voting  Quawfications  in  the  Territories      140 

'7  III.— The  District  of  Coi^umbia        .  .  .141 

</  IV.— Anai^ysis  of  Voting  Quawfications        .  143 

^  v.— OFFICE-H01.DING  AND  THE  E1.ECTIVE  Franchise  147 

JO     The  Federal  Constitution        .        .        .        .177 

Amendments  to  the  Constitution        .  .  189 

Appendix .194 

Index         ........  199 


jPRKKACK. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  book,  no  special  claim  is 
made  to  originality,  for  it  is,  to  a  large  extent,  a  compi- 
lation of  national  and  state  laws  affecting  citizenship  and 
the  right  of  voting  in  the  United  States,  and  of  such 
questions  relating  thereto  as  have,  from  time  to  time, 
been  passed  upon  by  the  Courts.  Public  sentiment  in 
the  United  States  is  drifting  rapidly  in  the  direction  of 
"restricted  foreign  immigration."  -  At  the  same  time, 
the  nature  of  the  restrictions  now  placed  upon  it,  is  not 
as  generally  understood  as  it  should  be.  But  there  is  an 
impression,  amounting  almost  to  a  conviction,  that 
further  restrictions  are  needed  to  defend  the  ballot  box — 
the  palladium  of  our  liberties — as  it  is  open,  in  many 
quarters,  to  direct  assault  by  the  unnaturalized  foreigner, 
who  has  no  sympathy  with  our  institutions  or  interest  in 
our  national  welfare.  Perhaps  a  perusal  of  these  pages 
will  show  the  weak  points  in  our  political  system.  An 
effort  has  been  made  to  treat  the  subject  in  a  manner  and 
in  a  form  that  will  make  it  acceptable  and  instructive  to 
the  American  student,  and  interesting  and  useful  to  those 
of  foreign  birth  who  are  desirous  of  obtaining  the  priv- 
ilege of  American  citizenship  and  the  right  of  the  elective 
franchise.  Tai^iesin  Evans. 

Oaki^and,  Cai..,  March  i,  1892. 


^^  0?  TEB        ^ 

'UHI7BESIT7] 
AMERICAN  CITIZENSHIP. 


The  ordinary  definition  of  citizenship  is  "the  state 
of  being  vested  with  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a 
citizen."  Such  a  definition  is,  however,  vague  and  uncer- 
tain at  best.  It  involves  the  determination  of  what  con- 
stitutes a  citizen,  and  what  are  the  rights  and  privileges 
which  a  citizen  enjoys  to  the  exclusion  of  the  person  who 
is  not  a  citizen.  A  citizen,  in  the  popular  meaning  of 
the  word,  is  .a  member  of  the  community  to  which  he 
belongs.  Citizens  are  the  people  who  compose  the  com- 
munity, and  who,  in  their  associated  capacity,  have 
established  or  submitted  themselves  to  the  dominion  of  a 
government  for  the  promotion  of  their  general  welfare, 
and  for  the  protection  of  their  individual  as  well  as  their 
collective  rights  (i).  Citizenship,  therefore,  implies  mem- 
bership in  a  nation.  As  a  member  of  the  body  politic,  a 
citizen,  whether  native  or  naturalized,  is  a  person  who 
owes  allegiance  to  the  government,  who  must  submit  to 
taxation  for  its  support  and  give  it  service  in  case  of 
necessity,  and  who  is  entitled,  in  return,  to  "liberty  of 
person  and  conscience,  to  the  right  of  acquiring  and  pos- 
sessing property,  of  marriage  and  the  social  relations,  of 
suit  and  defense,  and  to  security  in  person,  estate  and 
reputation  (2)."      Citizenship,  in  this  broad  and  general 

(1)  92  U.  S.  Rep.  542. 

(2)  I  Litt.  (K.),  323. 


2  AMERICAN    CITIZENSHIP. 

sense,  draws  no  line  as  to  sex,  age,  race,  color  or  condi- 
tion, providing  the  person  claiming  it  has  been  born 
within  the  territorial  boundaries  of  the  nation,  and  is 
under  its  jurisdiction,  or  has  been  naturalized  in  con- 
formity with  its  laws,  or  has  acquired  it  through  the 
operation  of  a  treaty,  or  by  means  of  a  special  act  of  Con- 
gress, or  by  means  of  any  other  regular  and  lawful  method, 
and  has  not,  through  the  commission  of  any  unlawful  act, 
or  any  other  causCj  forfeited  what  he  may  have  acquired 
by  either  of  the  processes  described. 

The  political  interpretation  of  citizenship  in  the  United 
States  implies  the  right  to  vote  at  all  elections  held  for 
the  filling  of  public  offices  or  for  the  determination  of 
measures  affecting  the  public  welfare,  and  a  qualification 
to  fill  such  offices  as  may  be  in  the  gift  of  the  people  or 
attainable  by  appointment. 

American  citizenship  is  divided,  however,  into  two 
separate  and  distinct  classifications — Federal  and  State — 
each  of  which  may  be  entirely  independent  of  the  other. 


I.     FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP. 

A  person  may  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  without 
enjoying  State  citizenship  and  the  special  rights  andpriv- 
leges  which  State  citizenship  confers. 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  no  mode  existed  of 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  3 

obtaining  citizenship  of  the  United  States,  except  by  first 
becoming  a  citizen  of  some  State.     It  had  been  long  con- 
tended, and  had  been  held  by  many  learned  authorities, 
and   had  never  been  judicially  decided  to  the  contrary, 
that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  except  as  that  condition  arose  from  citizenship  of 
some  State.     The  Fourteenth  Amendment  of  the  Consti- 
tution  set  that   controversy  at  rest,  for  it  defines  and 
declares   who   shall   be   citizens   of  the   United  States, 
namely:   "all  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof."    Congress 
was  empowered  by  the  amendment  "to  enforce  by  appro- 
priate legislation"  its  provisions;   and  it  did  so,  by  enact- 
ing that  '  'all  persons  born  in  the  United  States,  and  not 
subject  to  any  foreign  power,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed, 
are  declared  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States  ( i ) . "     The 
constitutional   qualification,    "subject  to  the  jurisdiction 
thereof,"  was  intended  to  exclude  the  children  of  foreign 
representatives,  who,  if  born  in  the  United  States,   are 
recognized  as  being  born  within  "obedience  and  allegi- 
ance of  the  country  which  the  parents  oSicially  represent." 
But. whatever  special  rights  and  privileges  it  may  be  in 
the  power  of  a  State  to  confer  upon  its  citizens,  there  are 
certain  constitutional  rights  which  all   Federal  citizens 
enjoy  in  common  (2),  whether  they  are  citizens  of  States 
or  not.     As   to  these  common  rights,  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution  establishes   an    equality   between   all  persons, 
although  it  may  be  unable  to  confer  equality  as  to  othcj- 

(i)    Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  1992. 
(2)    3  Hughes.  13. 


4  FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP. 

privileges  (i).     These,  rights  in  common  are  known  as 
"privileges  and  immunities,"   and  are  fundamental  in 
character.     These  privileges  and  immunities  have  been 
judicially  defined  to  be  "the  right  to  come  to  the  seat  of 
government  to  assert  any  claim  he  (the  citizen)  may  have 
upon  the  government  ;   to  transact  any  business  he  may 
have  with  it  ;   to  seek  its  protection  ;   to  share  its  offices ; 
to  engage  in  administering  its  functions;  to  have  free 
access  to  its  seaports,  through  which  all  the  operations  of 
foreign  commerce  are  conducted ;  to  use  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  United  States,  however  they  may  penetrate 
the  territory  of  the  several   States ;   to  free  access  to 
the  sub-treasuries,  the  land  offices,  the  revenue  offices 
and  the  courts  of  justice  in  the  several  States  ;   to  peace- 
ably assemble  and  petition  for  redress  and  grievances ; 
to   the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  ;   to  demand 
the  care  and  protection  of  the  Federal  Government  over 
his  life,  liberty  and  property,  when  on  the  high  seas  or 
within   the  jurisdiction   of  a   foreign  government ;   the 
enjoyment  of  all   rights   secured  to  citizens  by  foreign 
treaties  with  foreign  nations,  and  the  right  to  become  a 
citizen  of  any  State,  of  his  own  volition,  by  a  bona  fide 
residence  therein  (2)." 

These   general   privileges  of  Federal  citizenship  may 
be  acquired : 

By  inheritance — that  is,  by  virtue  of  one's  parentage  or 
place  of  birth. 

(i)     3  Hughes,  16. 

(2)     6  Wallace,  35,  44;   16  Wallace,  36, 


FEDBRA.I<  CITIZENSHIP.  5 

By  marital  relations. 

By  the  cession  or  transfer  of  foreign  territory. 

By  naturalization. 

By  treaty. 

By  special  act  of  Congress. 

By  admission  of  a  territory  to  Statehood. 

FBDE^RAI,   CITIZENSHIP   BY   INHERITANCE. 

Federal  citizenship  may  be  acquired  by  inheritance,  by 
virtue  of  the  citizenship  of  the  father,  irrespective  of  the 
place  of  birth.  Thus,  a  child  bom  in  a  foreign  country, 
whose  father  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  is  a  Fed- 
eral citizen  by  virtue  of  his  father's  citizenship,  and  under 
the  law  of  expatriation  (i).  But  a  child  born  abroad,  of 
persons  once  citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  have  be- 
come citizens  of  a  foreign  power,  is  not  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  (2).  And  there  is  a  statutory  limitation  to 
the  right  of  descent  of  such  citizenship,  for  if  a  Federal 
citizen  thus  born  abroad  remains  abroad,  and  has  issue 
without  ever  having  resided  within  the  territorial  bound- 
aries of  the  United  States,  such  issue  has  no  claim  to 
Federal  citizenship. 

All  children  heretofore  or  hereafter  born  out  of  the  limits  and  jurisdiction 
of  the  United  States,  whose  fathers  were  or  may  be  at  the  time  of  their  birth 
citizens  thereof,  are  declared  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States  ;  but  the  rights 
of  citizenship  shall  not  descend  to  children  whose  fathers  never  resided  in  the 
United  States.-  Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  199 j. 

But  the  child  of  a  Federal  representative  born  while 
abroad  in  an  official  capacity  C3),  and  a  child  born  of 
American  parents  on  board  an  American  vessel  lying   in 

(i)    4McCrary,  66;   3Dall.,i33. 

(2)  14  Atty.  Gen.  op.  295. 

(3)  I  Abb.  U.  S.  28,  40;  I  Am.  T.  Iv.  U.  S.  S.  C.  22. 


6  FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP. 

a  foreign  port  or  sailing  on  the  high  seas,  are  native  born 
citizens  (i)  of  the  United  States,  because,  by  a  fiction  of 
law,  the  foreign  residence  of  any  official  representative 
and  a  vessel  carrying  the  national  flag,  are  construed  to 
be  American  soil,  each  being  within  the  protection  and 
obedience  of  the  sovereign  government  (2).  It  has  been 
held,  however,  that  a  female  child  born  abroad  whose 
father  was  an  American  citizen,  but  whose  mother  was  a 
native  of  the  country  in  .which  she  was  born,  and  who 
subsequently  remained  in  the  land  of  her  nativity  and 
married  a  citizen  thereof,  was  a  citizen  of  that  country 
and  not  of  the  United  States  (3). 

Federar  citizenship  may  be  acquired  by  inheritance  by 
virtue  of  the  place  of  birth,  irrespective  of  the  status  of  the 
parents. 

Birth  within  the  dominion  and  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States  creates  citizenship  of  itself  (4). 

All  persons  born  in  the  United  States  and  not  BMbject  to  any  foreign  power, 
excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  are  declared  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
Rev.  Stats.  U.  S. ,  Sec.  1992. 

To  secure  this  birthright  to  the  offspring,  it  is  not  nec- 
essary that  the  residence  of  the  parents  within  the  domin- 
ion and  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  shall  be  bona 
fide  or  permanent.  If  the  child  is  bom  "within  the 
dominion  and  jurisdiction"  during  the  temporary  sojourn- 
ment of  its  alien  parents,  it  is  enough.  The  child  thus 
born  is  a  natural  born  citizen.  To  illustrate  :  Julia 
Lynch  was  born  in  New    York    in    the   year   1819,    of 

(i)  5  Blatchford,  i8. 
(2j  3  Peters,  99. 

(3)  12  Atty.  Gen.  op.  ,7. 

(4)  Sandf.  584.,  639;  21  Fed.  Rep.  905;  17  Chicago  I,eg.  News,  57.         • 


FEDERAIv  CITIZENSHIP.  7 

alien  parents,  during  their  temporary  sojournmemt  in 
that  city.  The  temporary  character  of  their  residence  in 
New  York  was  shown  by  their  return  to  their  native 
country  the  same  year.  But  Julia  was  held  by  tlie 
Court  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  *  ^every  person  born  within  the  dominion  and 
allegiance  of  the  United  States,  whatever  the  situation 
of  the  parents,  is  a  natural  born  citizen  (i)." 

Federal  citizenship  may  be  acquired  by  inheritance  by 
virtue  of  the  place  of  birth,  notwithstanding  the  ineligi^ 
bility  of  the  parents  to  citizenship.  Th^  Chinese  are 
ineligible  to  citizenship  of  the  United  States  by  .a  pro- 
hibitory act  of  Congress  (2),  but  *'a  person  born  within 
the  United  States  of  Chinese  parents  residing  therein 
and  not  engaged  in  any  diplomatic  or  official  capacity 
under  the  Emperor  of  China,  is  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  (3),"  notwithstanding  the  parental  disability. 
But  an  Indian  born  within  the  dominion  of  the  United 
States  whose  parents  are  members  of  an  Indian  tribe, 
does  not  acquire  Federal  citizenship  by  virtue  of  his 
birthplace,  for  the  reason  that  Indian  tribes  are  not  sub- 
ject to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  or  owing  it 
allegiance,  and  the  child  has,  therefore,  not  been  born 
within  Federal  jurisdiction  (4). 

The  naturalization  of  the  alien  father  confers  Federal 
citizenship  on  the  minor  child  (5). 

(i)Saudf..583. 

(2)  Passed  February  18,  1875. 

(3)  21  Fed.  Rep.,  905;  10  Sawyer,  353;  35  F.  R.-  354;  36  F.  R.  437,  553. 

(4)  2  Sawyer  118;  6  Sawyer,  406;  10  Atty.  G.  op.  328, 329;  211  U.  S.  94:  25  Mich 

303;  38  Texas  96;  58  Maine  353:  8  Paige  433;  9  Florida  205. 

(5)  Rev.  Stats.  U,  S.,  Sec.  2172. 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP. 


FEDKRAI.  CITIZENSHIP  BY  MARRIAGE. 

Federal  citizenship  may  be  acquired  by  marriage. 

Any  woman  who  is  now  or  niav  hereafter  be  married  to  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  might  herself  be  lawfully  naturalized,  shall  be  deemed 
a  citizen.— ^^v.  Stats.  U.  S  ,  Sec.  799^. 

If  the  husband  is  an  alien  at  the  time  of  marriage,  and 
afterwards  becomes  naturalized,  the  wife  becomes  a  citi- 
zen by  virtue  of  her  husband's  naturalization  (i).  And 
her  marriage  to  a  naturalized  citizen  makes  her  a  citizen, 
although  she  may  have  lived  for  years  at  a  distance 
from  him,  and  may  never  have  come  to  this  country 
until  after  his  death  (2).  Her  citizenship  is  not  lost, 
either,  by  surviving  her  husband;  but  she  may  lose  it  by 
marrying  an  alien  (3).  But  the  marriage  of  a  femme 
solet  or  single  woman,  of  United  States  citizenship  with 
an  alien,  produces  no  dissolution  of  her  native  allegiance 
(4),  nor  does  the  act  of  marriage  confer  citizenship  upon 
him.  A  married  woman,  of  alien  birth,  may  be  natu- 
ralized, however,  without  the  consent  of  her  husband  (5). 
The  marriage  tie  makes  a  widow  and  her  children 
citizens,  even  though  the  husband  and  father  may  not 
have  been  a  citizen  at  the  time  of  death,  provided  he 
had  declared  his  intention  to  become  one. 

When  any  alien,  who  has  comj)lied  with  the  first  condition  specified  in 
section  twenty-two  hundred  and  six.y-five,  dies  before  he  is  actually  natural- 
ized, the  widow  and  the  children  ot  such  alien  shall  be  considered  as  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  all  rights  and  privileges  as 
such,  upon  taking  the  oath  prescribed  by  \a.vf.—Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  2168. 

(1)  7  Wall.  496,  isAtty.  G.  op;  116,  600;  6  Sawyer  603;  5  F.  R.  82;  n  Biss.  314; 

44  N.  Y.  Sup.  Ct.  535. 
(2163  (ia.  458;  80  N.Y.  171;  63  N.  C.  299;  26  How.  Pr.  474;  14  Atty.  G.  op.  402. 
13)  3  Pet.  242;  15  Atty.  G.  op.  600;  16  t  ed.  Rep.  211. 
(4)  3  Pet  99,  242. 
v5)  isBlatch.  406. 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  9 

The  widow  and  orphans  of  an  alien  resident  whose 
fulfillment  of  other  requirements  of  the  naturalization 
laws,  after  declaring  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen, 
has  been  interrupted  by  death,  acquire  citizenship  by 
virtue  of  the  principle  which  relieves  the  owner  of  an 
insured  vessel  or  cargo  of  the  penalty  of  loss,  when  such 
loss  is  caused  by  an  act  of  God  through  the  agency  of  the 
elements  or  other  unforeseen  and  unavoidable  event.  If 
they  were  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  his  bona  fide  intention 
(an  intention  which  it  is  reajtonable  to  presume  he  would 
have  faithfully  carried  into  effect  had  he  lived)  through 
his  death,  they  would  be  suffering  the  penalty  of  an  act 
of  God,  for  which  no  man  can  be  held  responsible. 

"The  children  of  persons  who  have  been  duly  naturalized  under  any  law 
of  the  United  States,  or  who,  previous  to  the  passing  of  any  law  on  that  subject 
by  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  may  have  become  citizens  of  any  one 
of  the  States,  under  the  laws  thereof,  being  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years 
at  the  time  of  the  naturalization  of  their  parents,  shall,  if  dwelling  in  the 
United  fctates,  be  considered  as  citizens  thereof;  and  the  children  otpersons 
who  now  are,  or  have  been,  citizens  of  th6  United  States,  shall,  though  born 
out  ofthe  limits  and  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  be  considered  as  citizens 
thereof;  but  no  person  hereafter  proscribed  by  any  State,  or  who  has  been 
legally  convicted  of  havine  joined  the  army  of  Great  Britain  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  shall  be  admitted  to  become  a  citizen  without  the  consent  of 
the  legislature  ofthe  State  in  which  such  person  was  proscribed."— i?,fi/.  Stats. 
U.  S. ,  Sec.  2172. 

FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP   BY   TERRITORIAL  CESSION. 

The  transfer  of  territory  from  one  nation  to  another 
carries  with  it  the  allegiance  of  those  remaining  in  it  at 
the  time  of  the  transfer  (i).  Thus,  the  allegiance  of  resi- 
dents of  territory  ceded  to  the  United  States  is  thereafter 
due  to  the  United  States,  unless  differently  specified  in 
the  articles  of  cession  (2; .     The  doctrine  of  election  of  per- 

(i)  Peters,  542. 

(2)  I  McAllister^Circ.  o/"Cal.),  193. 


lO  FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP. 

sons  who  are  residents  of  annexed  territory,  to  become 
citizens  of  the  country  to  which  it  has  been  annexed,  or  to 
return  to  their  mother  country,  has  been  recognized  by  the 
courts  (i).  The  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  (2),  ceding 
Mexican  territory  to  the  United  States,  gave  Mexicans 
(3)  residing  within  the  ceded  territory  the  right  to  choose 
their  allegiance  within  one  year  after  the  date  of  the  ex- 
change of  treaty  ratifications.  Those  who  remained  in 
.the  territory,  ceded,  after  the  expiration  of  one  year,  with- 
out having  declared  their  intention  to  retain  the  character 
of  Mexicans,  were  considered  to  have  elected  to  become 
citizens   of  the   United   States  (a).     The   inhabitants  of 

(i)  20  How.,  8  ;  iS  How.,  235  ;   i  New  Mexico,  29,  317  ;  3  Ala.,  546  ;  i  Clark* 

Pa.,  2T4  ;   2  Mast.,  La.,  185;   i  McAllister,  186. 
(2j  Article  Vlllof  the  Treaty  of  Queretaro. 

(3)  The  language  of  the   treaty   is  "  M^x'icans,"   not   Mexican   citizens, 
and  it  has  been  contended  that  such  of  the  Indian  race  as  had  severed 
their  tribal  relations  and  adopted  the  civilization  of  the  Franciscan 
missionaries,  and  become  attached  to  the  several  mission  establish- 
ments located  in  the  territory  ceded,  and  who  are  commonly  known 
as  Mission  Indians,  come  under  the  operation  of  the  term  "  Mexi- 
cans"; but  the  point  has  never  been  judicially  determined. 
(c)  "Mexicansnowestablishedin  territories  previously  belonging  to  Mexico, 
and   which  remain,  for  the  future,  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  as 
defined  by  the  present  treaty,  shall  be  free  to  continue  where  they  now  reside, 
or  to  remove  at  any  time  to  the  Mexican  Republic,  retaining  the  property 
which  they  possess  in  the  said  territories,  or  disposing  thereofTand  removing 
the  proceeds  wherever  they  please,  without  their  being  subjected,  on  this 
account,  to  any  contribution,  tax,  or  charge  whatever. 

Those  who  shall  prefer  to  remain  in  the  said  territories  may  either  retain 
the  title  and  rights  of  Mexican  citizens,  or  acquire  those  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States.  But  they  shall  be  under  the  obligation  to  make  their  election  within 
one  year  from  the  date  of  the  exchange  of  ratifications  of  this  treaty  ;  and 
those  who  shall  remain  in  the  said  territorie  after  the  expiration  of  that  year, 
without  having  declared  their  intention  to  retain  their  character  of  Mexicans, 
shall  be  considered  to  have  decided  to  become  citizens  of  theUnited  States. 

In  the  said  territories,  property  of  every  kind,  now  belonging  to  Mexicans 
not  established  there,  shall  be  inviolably  respected.  The  present  owners,  the 
heirsof  these,  and  all  Mexicans  who  may  hereafter  acquire  said  property  by 
contract,  shall  enjoy  with  respect  to  it  guarantees  equally  ample  as  if  the  same 
belonged  to  citizens  of  the  United  States."— ^r/zV:/.?  F///,  Treaty  of  Queretaro, 
May  26,  1848. 

"The  Mexicans  who,  in  the  territories  aforesaid,  shall  not  preserve  the 
character  of  citizens  of  the  Mexican  Republic,  conformably  with  what  is  stipu- 
lated in  the  preceding  article,  shall  be  incorporated  into  the  Union  of  the 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  II 

Louisiana  were  incorporated  in  the  Union  of  the  United 
States,  and  admitted  to  ^11  the  rights  of  Federal  citizen- 
ship, promptly  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of 
cession  {b).  The  treaty  with  Russia,  ceding  to  the  United 
States  the  territory  of  Alaska,  ratified  and  proclaimed 
June  20,  1867,  gave  the  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory 
(uncivilized  tribes  excepted)  the  right  of  reserving  their 
national  allegiance  and  returning-to  Russia  within  three 
years  ;  those  remaining  in  the  ceded  territory  after  that 
period  were  admitted  to  United  States  citizenship  (r). 
The  annexation  of  the  Republic  of  Texas  as  a  State  gave 
its  citizens  Federal  citizenship,  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  the  State  Constitution  {d).  By  the  cession  of  the  Flor- 
Idas  to  the  United  States  by  Spain,  the  allegiance  of  the 

United  States,  and  be  admitted  at  the  proper  time  (to  be  judged  of  by  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States)  to  the  enjoynifnt  of  all  the  rights  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Constitution  ;  and  in 
the  meantime  shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in  the  free  enjoyment  of 
their  liberty  and  property,  and  secured  in  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion 
without  restriction."— ^r^.  IX,  Treaty  of  Queretaro,  May  26,  1848. 

(b)  "The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory  shall  be  incorporated  in  the 
Union  of  the  United  States,  and  admitted  as  soon  as  possible,  according  to  the 
principle  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights, 
advantages  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  ;  and  in  the  mean 
time  they  shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in  the  free  enjoyment  of  their 
liberty,  property  and  the  religion  which  they  profess." — Art.  Ill,  Treaty  of 
Paris,  April  30,  1803. 

(c)  "  The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory,  according  to  their  choice,  re- 
serving their  natural  allegiance,  may  return  to  Russia  within  three  years  ;  but 
if  they  should  prefer  to  remain  in  the  ceded  territory,  they,  with  the  exception 
of  uncivilized  native  tribes,  shall  be  admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the 
rights,  advantages  and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  shall 
be  maintained  a  d  protected  in  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  liberty,  property  and 
religion.  The  uncivilized  tribes  will  be  subject  to  such  laws  and  regulations 
as  the  United  States  may  from  time  to  time  adopt  in  regard  to  aboriginal  tribes 
of  that  country."— ^rA  ///,  Treaty  of  Washington,  June  so,  1867. 

id)  "'All  free  male  persons  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  (Indians  not 
taxed,  Africans  and  descendants  of  Africans  excepted),  who  shall  have  resided 
six  months  in  Texas,  immediately  preceding  the  acceptance  of  this  Constitu- 
tion by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  deemed  qualified  elect- 
ors."—5VC.  2,  Art.  II,  Const,  of  Texas,  1845. 


12  FKDKRAI.    CITIZKNSHIP. 

inhabitants  thereof  was  transferred  peremptorily  to  the 
United  States,  with  the  somewhat  indefinite  provision 
*  'as  soon  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  principles  of  the 
Federal  Constitution  (^) . " 

The  principle  that  the  allegiance  of  the  citizens  of  ceded 
territory  passes  from  the  nation  making  the  cession  to 
the  nation  receiving  it,  at  the  time  the  cession  is  consum- 
mated, is,  however,  limited  in  its  application  and  opera- 
tion. It  relates  only  to  the  natural  born  citizens  of  the 
nation  making  the  cession.  Naturalized  citizens  of  the 
nation  making  the  cession  residing  within  the  territory 
ceded  at  the  time  of  the  transfer,  do  not  share  with  the 
native  born  in  this  political  transition.  The  act  of  ces- 
sion restores  the  naturalized  citizen  to  his  original  civil 
and  political  status,  whatever  that  may  have  been  before 
he  became  naturalized,  for  the  reason  that  the  allegiance 
which  he  owed  to  the  government  of  his  adoption  was 
purely  voluntary  and  statutory  (i). 

Birth  binds  man  by  the  tie  of  natural  allegiance  to  the 
soil  ;  and  the  right  to  change  the  political  relations  of  an 
inhabitant  of  ceded  territory  from  the  sovereign  govern- 
ment making  the  cession,  and  within  whose  dominion 
and  under  whose  jurisdiction  such  inhabitant  was  born, 

(^)  "The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territories  shall  be  secured  in  the  free  exer- 
cise of  their  religion,  without  any  restriction;  and  all  those  who  may  desire 
to  remove  to  the  Spanish  dominions  shall  be  permitted  to  sell  or  export  their 
effects,  at  any  time  whatever,  without  being  subject,  in  either  caf^e,  to  duties. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  territories  which  His  Catholic  Majesty  cedes  to  the 
United  States,  by  this  treaty,  shall  be  incorporated  in  the  Union  of  the  United 
States,  as  soon  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  principles  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, and  admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  privileges,  rights,  and  immu- 
nities of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States."— ^r^^y.  V  and  VI.,  Treaty  of  PVash- 
ington,  Feb.  22,  1821. 

(1)  Tobin  vs.  Walkinshaw.  i  McAllister  (Circuit  of  Cal.)  186. 


FEDERAI.    CITIZENSHIP.  1 3 

to  the  sovereign  government  receiving  it,  is  recognized 
by  the  law  of  nature  and  of  nations.  But  no  power  exists 
in  the  one  government  to  transfer,  or  in  the  other  govern- 
ment to  receive,  the  voluntary  or  statutory  allegiance  of 
a  naturalized  citizen,  for  his  allegiance  is  the  offspring  of 
municipal  law,  and  its  support  does  not  rest  upon  the 
law  of  nature  and  the  code  of  nations.  The  act  of  cession 
is,  to  a  naturalized  citizen,  an  absolute  release  from  all  po- 
litical obligations  growing  out  of  his  naturalization,  and 
it  peremptorily  remits  him  to  the  subjection  of  the  gov- 
ernment which  he  renounced  when  he  was  naturalized  (i). 
He  stands,  therefore,  in  his  relations  to  the  new  govern- 
ment of  the  territory  ceded,  in  the  position  of  an  alien  res- 
ident ;  and  if  he  desires  to  submit  himself  to  its  dominion 
as  a  citizen,  he  must  conform  to  its  laws  for  the  natural- 
ization of  foreigners. 

FEDERAI.  CITIZENSHIP  BY  NATURAI.IZATION. 

All  civilized  nations  have  provided  rules  for  the  admis- 
sion of  persons  of  foreign  birth  to  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  citizenship  by  naturalization  or  adoption.  These 
rules  are  stringent  or  lax  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  inducements  offered  to  immigration,  the  degree  of 
danger  to  the  commonwealth  attending  an  influx  of  a 
foreign  element,  and  the  facility  with  which  persons  of 
foreign  birth  assimilate  with  the  native  population. 
The  United  States  is  not  an  exception  to  this  rule  of 
civilized  nations.     An  alien  can  acquire  Federal   citizen- 

(i)  1  McAllister  (Circ.  of  Cal.),  193,  194,  195. 


14  FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP. 

ship  in  the  United  States  only  by  conforming  to  its  laws 
for  the  naturalization  of  the  foreigner,  provided,  of  course, 
he  comes  up  to  the  lawful  standard  of  eligibility  (i). 
The  Federal  Constitution  clothed  Congress  with  the 
power,  among  other  things,  "to  establish  an  uniform  rule 
of  naturalization  *  *  *  *  throughout  the  United  States(2)." 
Before  the  adoption  of  the  present  Federal  Constitution, 
several  of  the  States  exercised  the  power  to  naturalize 
and  admit  persons  of  alien  ^birth  to  citizenship.  This 
power  of  naturalization,  or  the  conferring  of  Federal  citi- 
zenship on  a  qualified  alien,  now  lies  exclusively  with 
Congress,  for  that  body,  in  1802,  passed  an  act  providing 
an  uniform  rule  for  the  naturalization  of  white  aliens. 
This  rule  deprives  the  States  individually  of  the  power 
of  naturalizing  aliens  according  to  their  own  free  will  and 
pleasure,  thereby  giving  them  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  citizens  in  every  other  State.  The  exercise  by  Con- 
gress of  the  power  which  the  Federal  Constitution  con- 
fers upon  it  *'to  provide  an  uniform  rule  of  naturaliza- 
tion," was  necessary  to'prevent  one  State,  in  its  eagerness 
to  acquire  population,  to  so  relax  its  rule  of  naturaliza- 
tion as  to  modify  or  break  down  the  policy  of  another 
State  in  the  admission  of  aliens  to  Federal  citizenship. 
If  no  uniform  rule  of  naturalization  had  been  adopted  for 
all  of  the  States  to  follow,  one  State  might  have  natural- 
ized an  alien  upon  one   year's   residence,  whereas   other 

(i)  The  exceptions  to  this  general  rule  are  those  whose  allegiance  passed 
with  the  possessions  of  the  soil  by  territorial  cession,  or  by  treaty, 
and  such  as  may  have  citizenship  conierred  upon  them  by  special 
act  of  Congress. 

(2)  Const.  U.  S.  Sec.  8. 


FEDERAL   CITIZENSHIP.  1 5 

States,  more  conservative,  might  have  required  a  much 
longer  term  of  residence;  or,  if  the  act  of  Congress, 
after  the  adoption  of  the  uniform  rule  of  naturalization 
which  requires  five  years  residence  as  an  essential  ele- 
ment of  naturalization,  had  not  deprived  the  States  in 
their  individual  capacity  of  the  power  of  naturalization, 
it  would  have  been  of  no  use  whatever  (i). 

WHO  ARE  ELIGIBLE  TO   NATURALIZATION. 

The  first  point  to  determine  in  connection  with  the 
conversion  of  an  alien  to  citizenship,  is  presented  in  the 
question  :    Who  are  eligible  to  become  naturalized  ? 

According  to  the  act  of  Congress  of  April,  1802,  any 
alien,  "being  a  free  white  person,"  was  eligible  to  admis- 
sion to  Federal  citizenship.  In  the  revision  of  the  Federal 
statutes,  adopted  by  Congress  June  22,  1874,  the  words 
"free  white  person"  were  dropped,  and  the  statutory 
declaration  of  race  qualification  read  '  'any  alien  may  be 
admitted. "  All  barriers  against  race  and  color  were  thus 
completely  broken  down,  although  it  was  designed  only 
for  the  conferring  of  citizenship  upon  the  freedmen  of 
African  nativity  and  descent.  Congress  corrected  the 
error  July  18,  1875,  and  restored  the  qualification  to  its 
former  condition,  excepting  that  the  privilege  of  natural- 
ization was  extended  to  '  'aliens  of  African  nativity  and 
to  persons  of  African  descent." 

,  "The  provisions  of  this  title  shaU  apply  to  aliens,  being  free  white  per- 
sons, and  to  aliens  of  African  nativity,  and  to  persons  of  African  de.scent.--/?(fz/. 
Stats.  U.S.,  Sec,  2169. 

(I)  Kent's  Com.,  424. 


l6  FEDERAL   CITIZENSHIP. 

It  is  very  evident  that  all  members  of  the  human  family- 
are  not  embraced  in  the  qualification  of  naturalization  as 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  The  race  qualification  of 
citizenship  is  restricted  by  a  color  line — white  and  black. 
The  statutory  term,  "free  white,"  may  be  fairly  consid- 
ered as  a  misnomer,  for  on  no  part  of  the  globe  is  the 
white  man  in  a  state  of  bondage,  excepting,  perhaps,  in  the 
Turkish  empire,  unless  he  be  in  bondage  for  crime  ;  and 
a  felon,  whether  white  or  black,  is  ineligible  to  citizen- 
zenship,  by  virtue  of  his  offense  against  the  laws  of 
society.  And,  excepting  bondage  for  crime,  slavery  can 
no  longer  exist  in  the  United  States. 

"Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punishment  for 
crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within  the 
JJnited  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction."— X///  Amendment 
id  the  Federal  Constitution,  Sec.  i. 

A  qualified  alien  must  comply  with  conditions  which 
may  be  briefly  summed  up,  as  follows,  before  he  can  be 
admitted  to  Federal  citizenship  by  naturalization  : 

I  St.  He  must  declare  his  boyiafide  intention  to  become 
a  citizen,  and  also  his  bojia  fide  intention  to  renounce 
the  allegiance  he  owes  at  the  time  of  making  the  declara- 
tion. 

2d.  He  must  make  these  declarations  of  intention  at 
least  two  years  prior  to  his  admission  to  citizenship. 

3d.  He  must  make  these  declarations  of  intention 
before  a  court  of  record,  or  before  the  clerk  of  a  court  of 
record  at  the  clerk's  office. 

4th.  He  must  have  resided  continuously  in  the  United 
States  at  least  five  years  next  preceding  his  application 
for  admission  to  citizenship. 


FEDERAL   CITIZENSHIP.  1 7 

5tli.  He  must  have  resided  in  the  State  or  Territory  in 
which  he  applies  for  admission  to  citizenship  at  least  one 
year  before  making  the  application. 

6th.  He  must  prove  his  good  moral  character  during 
the  five  years  of  his  probation  (i). 

7th.  He  must  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  his 
attachment  to  the  Federal  Constitution. 

8th.  He  must  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court 
that  he  is  well  disposed  to  the  good  order  and  happiness 
of  the  United  States. 

9th.  He  must  positively  renounce  all  former  allegi- 
ance, and  swear  fealty  to  the  United  States. 

loth.  If  he  possesses  any  hereditary  title  or  order  of 
nobility,  he  must  publicly  renounce  the  same. 

The  place  and  manner  in  which  the  declarations  of  the 
intending  citizen  by  naturalization  shall  be  made,  are  thus 
set  forth  : 

"An  alien  may  be  admitted  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  in^he 
following  manner,  and  not  otherwise  : 

First— He  shall  declare  on  oath,  before  a  circuit  or  district  court  of  the 
United  States,  or  Supreme  Court  of  the  Territories,  or  a  court  of  record  of  any 
of  the  States  having  common  law  jurisdiction,  and  a  seal  and  a  clerk,  two 
years,  at  least,  prior  to  his  admission,  that  it  is  bona  fide  his  intention  to  be- 
come a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  to  renounce  forever  all  allegiance  and 
fidelity  to  any  foreign  prince,  potentate,  state  or  sovereignty,  and,  particularly, 
by  name  to  the  prince,  potentate,  state  or  sovereignty  of  which  the  alien  may 
be  at  the  time  a  citizen  or  subject."— ^(?z/.  Stais.  U.  S.,  Sec.  216^,  Subdiv.  i. 

(i)  It  has  been  held  that  evidence  of  his  conviction  for  a  crime  committed 
since  he  came  to  the  country  to  reside,  will  bar  hi^  application,  notwithstand- 
ing it  occurred  more  than  five  years  previous  to  the  application  (5  Sawyer, 
195;  i8Abb.LawJ.,is3;  6  F.  Rep.,  297);  and  an  alien  convicted  of  perjury, 
while  residing  here,  though  pardoned,  is  not  "of  good  moral  character,"  enti- 
tled to  admission  {5  Sawyer,  193);  to  have  been  guilty  of  murder,  robbery, 
theft,  bribery,  perjury,  or  any  crime  which  can  be  classed  as  infamous,  or 
the  habitual  sale  of  unlicensed  liquors,  would  bar  the  applicant  from  citizen- 
ship (5  Sawyer,  795''/  and  an  alien  who  lives  in  a  state  of  polygamy,  or  who 
believes  that  polygamy  may  be  rightfully  practiced  in  defiance  of  the  law  to 
the  contrary,  is  not  entitled  to  citizenship  (5  Sawyer,  195;  Fed.  Dig.,  25;  5  West. 
Jur.,  J71). 


1 8  FKDKRAI.    CITIZENSHIP. 

The  Police  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia  is  specially 
debarred  from  naturalizing  foreigners. 

'  'The  Police  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia  shall  have  no  power  to  nat- 
uralize foreigners."— ^cz/.  Stats.  U.S.,  Sec.  2iys. 

The  authority  to  receive  the  declarations  of  intention 
of  an  alien  has,  however,  been  extended  to  the  clerk  of  any 
court  of  record  previously  named,  by  the  following  stat- 
utory amendment : 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  Congress  assembled:  That  the  declaration  of  intention  to  become  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  required  by  Section  2165  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of 
the  United  States,  may  be  made  by  an  alien  before  the  clerkof  any  of  the 
courts  named  in  i-aid  Section  2165  ;  and  all  such  declarations  heretofore  made 
before  any  such  clerk  are  hereby  declared  as  le^al  and  valid  as  if  made  before 
one  of  the  courts  named  in  said  section." — Rev.  Stats.  U.  S,,  Addendum  to  Sub. 
6  of  Sec.  2165. 

But  when  the  declaration  of  intention  of  an  alien  is 
made  before  the  clerk  of  a  court  of  record  of  proper  juris- 
diction, it  must  be  made  in  the  regular  office  of  the  clerk, 
or  in  the  place  where  the  records  of  the  court  are  regu- 
larly kept.  Mrs.  lyangtry,  a  professional  beauty  and 
actress,  a  subject  of  Great  Britain,  being  desirous  of 
qualifying  to  institute  proceedings  for  divorce  in  the 
courts  of  the  United  States,  located  in  San  Francisco  and 
declared  her  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  before  the  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the 
United  States  of  the  Ninth  District.  Desiring  to  avoid 
^notoriety  and  the  public  curiosity,  it  was  agreed  to  receive 
her  declaration  of  intention  at  her  residence,  and  for  that 
purpose  the  clerk  of  the  court  visited  her  at  her  resi- 
dence, taking  with  him  the  necessary  records  and  seal  of 
the  court,  and  there  received  her  declaration  of  intentioa 
^Subsequently  the  validity  of  the  act  was  questioned,  and 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  1 9 

the  Court  held  that  the  Clerk  of  the  United  States  Circuit 
Court  has  no  authority  to  take  from  an  alien  a  declaration 
of  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
at  the  private  residence  of  the  party,  and  for  that  purpose 
to  carry  the  records  of  the  court  from  the  clerk's  office  to 
such  residence  (i). 

A  qualified  alien,  making  this  declaration  of  intention, 
may  do  so,  if  he  so  desires,  immediately  after  entering 
the  dominion  of  the  United  States,  or  he  may  wait  for  a 
period  of  three  years  (or  a  longer  period)  after  entering 
the  United  States,  before  making  his  declaration.  If  the 
declaration  of  intention  is  made  immediately  on  arrival  in 
the  country,  then  no  further  steps  toward  securing  ad- 
mission to  Federal  citizenship  can  be  taken  for  a  term  of 
five  years.  If,  however,  a  period  of  three  or  more  years 
shall  have  elapsed  since  the  arrival  in  the  United  States 
of  the  alien  seeking  citizenship  and  the  declaration  of  his 
intention,  then  the  final  proceedings  admitting  him  to  citi- 
zenship may  be  taken  at  the  end  of  two  years,  but  no 
sooner.  In  any  event,  the  applicant  for  citizenship  must 
have  been  a  continuous  resident  for  five  years  next  pre- 
ceding his  admission  ;  and  to  make  this  fact  clear,  Con- 
gress first  declared  : 

"It  shall  be  made  to  appear  to  the  satisfacLion  of  the  court  admitting  such 
alien  that  he  has  resided  within  the  United  States  five  years  at  least,  and 
within  the  state  or  territory  where  such  court  is  at  the  time  held,  one  year  at 
least ;  and  that  during  that  time  he  has  behaved  as  a  man  of  good  moral  char- 
acter (2),  attached  to  the  principles  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
well  disposed  to  the  good  order  and  the  happiness  of  the  same  ,  but  the  oath  of 
the  applicant  shall  in  no  case  be  allowed  to  prove  his  resiuence." — Rev.  Stats. 
U.  S.,  Sec.  2165,  Subd.  3. 

(I)  In  re  Langtry,ji  Fed.  Rep. ,879;  12  Sawyer,  467. 

{2)  Applicants  for  naturalization  have  be  n  denied  the  privilege  where  th^ 
evidence  showed  that  prior  to  the  period  of  statutory  probation  they  had  not 
behave  d  as  "of  good  moral  character,"  although  their  comiuctmay  have  been 
subsequently  irreproachable  (see  p.  17).  :-  ,. 


I 


20  FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP. 

Lest,  however,  there  might  be  a  doubt  as  to  the  neces- 
sity of  the  term  of  residence  preceding  admission  to  citi- 
zenship being  continuous,  Congress  further  declared : 

"No  alien  shall  be  admitted  to  become  a  citizen  who  has  no*  for  the  contin- 
ued term  of  five  vears  next  preceding  his  admission  resided  w  thin  the  U  ited 
States."— ^«'.  S/ats.  C.  S..  Src.  2170  (i). 

Original!)'  this  section  of  the  act  contained  the  following 
words:  "without  being  at  any  time  during  the  said  five 
years  out  of  the  territorj-  of  the  United  States,"  and  they 
remained  there  until  June  26,  1848,  when  they  were 
stricken  out  by  Congress  (2).  An  alien  resident  of  the 
United  States,  qualifying  to  be  admitted  to  citizenship, 
could  not,  prior  to  the  elimination  of  this  restriction  from 
the  statute,  leave  the  territory  of  the  United  States  for 
any  purpose,  or  for  any  period  of  time,  no  matter  how 
brief,  without  forfeiture  of  all  the  benefits  that  had  accrued 
to  him  by  reason  of  his  previous  residence  within  its 
"dominion  and  jurisdiction."  His  residence  began, 
therefore,  from  the  date  of  his  return  to  the  country  after 
his  temporar>'  absence.  It  is  still  the  language  and  intent 
of  the  law  that  the  applicant  shall  have  been  a  bona  fide 
resident  of  the  United  States  for  an  unbroken  period  of 
five  years,  to  enable  him  to  be  lawfully  admitted  to  citi- 
zenship. To  what  extent  an  alien  resident  may  absent 
himself  from  the  countrj-,  if  at  all,  to  sojourn  in  a  foreign 
country,  and  not  lose  his  bona  fide  residence  in  the  United 
States,  and  not  forfeit  the  benefits  accruing  to  him  under 
the  naturalization  laws  from  that  residence,  is  undeter- 
mined.    He  may  have  no  more  right  to  leave  the  country 

(i)  4  Peters,  393 ;  i  Cxanch,  186,  219, 243  ;  1  Peters,  457. 
(a)  9  Stat.,  240. 


FEDERA.L  CITIZENSHIP.  21 

now  for  any  purpose,  or  for  any  period  of  time,  no  matter 
how  brief,  than  he  had  before  the  surplusage  quoted  was 
stricken  out  by  Congress;  for,  in  leaving  tlie  country,  he 
passes  out  of  the  dominion  and  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  and,  being  a  foreign  subject,  he  owes  no  allegiance 
to  the  Federal  government  (i).     At  all  events,  it  is  self- 

(i)  There  is  nothing  in  any  of  the  cases  reported  in  the  books  indicating  that 
the  applicant  for  citizenship  may.  during  the  time  he  is  acquiring  a  residence 
qualification,  leave  the  country  for  any  length  of  time,  or  for  any  purpose, 
except  as  a  mariner  ser\-ing  in  an  American  merchant  vessel,  without  forfeit- 
ure of  that  which  he  may  have  previouslv  gained.  And  the  residence  must  be 
or  a  permanent  nature,  such  as  to  show  the  bona  fide  intention  of  the  applicant 
to  remain  permanently  in  the  country.  Sojournment  or  transi  or}'  residence 
is  not  enough.  'Proof  that  the  applicant  has  cottinued  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  United  States  for  more  than  the  required  five  years  is  not  enough. 
The  law  contemplates  territorial  residence."  k4  N.  K.  Leg.  Obs.,  gS;i  Abb. 
Dig.,  62S).  An  alien  might,  for  instance,  travel  throughout  the  United  States, 
from  place  to  place,  for  purposes  of  pleasure  or  business,  covering  a  period  of 
five  years  or  more,  without  acquiring  fixed  residence  anywhere.  He  would 
thus"  have  been  continuously  within  the  dominion  and' jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States,  nevt  rtheless  he  would  be  disqualified  for  admission  to  citizen- 
ship, tor  the  reason  that  he  was  merely  a  sojourner  and  not  a  resident.  Being 
continuously  within  the  dominion  and  jurisdictiou  of  the  United  States  dees 
not  im  ly  residence,  but  continuity  of  residence  in  the  United  States  does  imply 
being  continuously  w.thin  its  dominion  and  jurisdiction. 

Several  cas  s  are  recorded  in  which  tlie  courts  have  pas.sed  upon  the  subject 
of  continuity  of  resi  ence  as  an  essential  element  in  the  admission  of  an  appli- 
cant for  citizenship. 

In  1804,  an  alien  named  Walton  applied  to  the  Circuit  Court  at  Alexandria 
for  citizenship.  An  affidavit  was  submitted  in  his  behalf,  which  showed  that 
the  applicant  had  "resided  within  the  United  States  upwards  of  .six  years ; 
that  during  that  period  he  was  absent  from  the  country  a  short  time  on  busi- 
ness, but  left  his  family  in  the  United  States  ;  that  he  had  resided  for  more 
than  one  year  last  past  in  Alexandria,  in  the  Distri  t  of  Coluiubia,  and  that 
during  all  the  afore.'^aid  time  he  has  behaved  as  a  man  of  t^ood  moral  character, 
attached  to  the  principles  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  well 
disposed  to  the  good  order  and  happiness  of  the  same  ;  that  the  said  Walton 
removed  to  the  United  States,  as  this  deponent  understood,  and  doth  verily 
believe,  with  tl  e  intention  of  making  said  States  his  place  of  permanent  resi- 
dence, and  that  he  hath  not  relinquished  his  inte  'tion."  The  application  was 
objected  to  and  rejected  by  the  court,  because  the  residence  did  not  appear  to 
be  a  continued  residence.—/  Cranch,  1S6. 

Another  alien,  named  James  Saunderson,  applied  to  the  same  Court  for 
admission  to  citizenship,  in  which  it  appeared  that  the  continuity  of  his  resi- 
dence had  been  disturbed.  William  Hodgson,  the  witness  testifying  to  the 
applicant's  residence,  filed  an  affidavit  setting  forth  that  Saunderson  came 
to  the  United  States  in  October,  1797,  and  continued  to  reside  here  until  1800, 
when  he  went  to  England  and  returned  in  April,  i8ci.  In  the  fallofiSoi, 
he  went  to  England  again,  and  returned  to  the  United  States  in  1S02,  after 
that  remaining  continuously  in  Alexandria  until  the  date  of  his  application 
for  admission  to  citizenship,   the  various  periods  of  his    residence    in    the 


22  FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP. 

evident  that  a  removal  from  the  United  States  into  a  for- 
eign country,  and  there  engaging  in  his  regular  occupa- 
tion, or  in  any  permanent  form  of  trade,  requiring 
presumptively  regular  and  permanent  residence  therein, 
would  be,  in  itself,  conclusive  proof  of  an  abandonment 
of  the  residence  previously  acquired  in  the  United  States, 
and  a  voluntary  surrender  of  all  advantage  in  the  process  of 
naturalization  gained  through  it,  for  it  would  demonstrate 
that  the  intent  of  the  applicant  for  citizenship  was  not 
bona  Jide.  And  a  declaration  of  intention  to  become  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  made  in  due  form  prior 
to  removal  to  a  foreign  country,  would  not  avail,  for 
like  reason.  It  is  evident  Congress  had  in  mind 
the  possibility  of  such  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances. And  its  intention  that  an  alien's  residence  in 
the  United  States,  so  interrupted,  should  operate  to  his 
disadvantage,  was  clearly  manifested  in  the  fact  that  it 
made  an  exception  in  the  case  of  a  seaman,  being  a  for- 
eigner, who  desired  to  acquire  citizenship  by  naturaliza- 
tion, by  providing  that  after  a  declaration  of  his  inten- 
tion to  become  a  citizen  had  been  made,  followed  by 
three  years'  service  on  board  of  a  merchant  vessel  of  the 
United  States,  he  could  acquire  it  on  application  to  any 
competent  court,  the  production  of  a  certificate  of  dis- 

country,  when  combined,  aggregating  more  than  five  year  .  The  Court  re- 
fused to  admit  him,  because  he  had  not  continued,  to  reside  according  to  the 
act  of  1804. — I  Crunch,  2ig. 

The  application  of  an  alien,  named  Pasqualt,  to  be  naturalized,  in  whose 
favor  an  affidavit  showed  that  he  had  resided  in  Alexandria  upwards  of  five 
years,  and  that  he  had  during  that  time  sailed  from  the  port  of  Alexandria  in 
American  vessels,  as  a  mariner,  was  granted,  and  he  was  admitted  (/  Cranch, 
243),  because  his  absence  from  the  country  was  clearly  admissible  under  that 
provision  of  the  naturalization  laws  defining  the  manner  in  which  an  alien 
seaman  may  be  admitted  to  citizenship.     (See  p.  23.) 


FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP.  23 

charge  and  good  conduct  and  of  the  certificate  of  his  dec- 
laration of  intention.  The  acquirement  of  Federal  cit- 
izenship under  these  favorable  conditions  is  permissible 
only  for  the  specific  purpose  of  pursuing  his  ^vocation  as 
a  seaman  thereafter  on  merchant  vessels  carrying  the  flag 
of  the  United  States. 

"  Every  seaman,  being-  a  foreigner,  who  declares  his  intention  of  becom- 
ing a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  in  any  competent  court,  and  shall  have 
served  three  years  on  board  of  a  merchant  vessel  of  the  United  States  subse- 
quent to  the  date  of  such  declaration,  may,  on  his  application  to  any  compe- 
tent court,  and  the  production  of  his  certificate  of  discharge  and  good  conduct 
during  that  time,  together  with  the  certificate  of  his  declaration  of  inten- 
tion to  become  a  citizen,  be  admitted  a  citizen  of  the  United  States;  and 
every  seaman,  being  a  foreigner,  shall  after  his  declaration  of  intention  to 
become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  after  he  shall  have  served  such 
three  years,  be  deemed  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  man- 
ning and  serving  on  board  any  merchant  vessel  of  the  United  States,  anything 
to  the  contrary  in  any  act  of  Congress  notwithstanding;  but  such  seaman 
shall,  for  all  purposes  of  protection  as  an  American  citizen,  be  deemed  such, 
after  the  filing  of  his  declaration  of  intention  to  become  such  a  citizen." — 
Rev.  Slats.  U.  S. ,  Sec.  2174. 

But  the  three  years'  service,  as  a  seaman,  has  to  be 
rendered  on  a  vessel  belonging  to  the  mercantile  (i) 
marine  of  the  United  States,  which,  b}^  a  fiction  of  law, 
as  previously  stated  (2),  is  constructively  a  part  of  the 
United  States.  He  will  have  been,  thus,  in  the  pursuit 
of  his  regular  occupation,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  a  con- 
tiauous  resident  ot  the  United  States  for  the  required 
period  subsequent  to  the  declaration  of  his  intention  to 
become  a  citizen.  Any  interruption  to  the  continuity  of 
this  service,  by  employment  as  a  seaman  on  a  vessel 
sailing  under  a  foreign  flag,  or  under  another  employer 
on  foreign  soil,  would  be  fatal  to  his  claim  for  admission 
to  citizenship  and  serve  as  a  forfeiture  of  whatever  ad- 
vantage he  had  previously  gained  through  his   declara- 

(1.)  It  has  been  held  that  this  section  of  the  naturalization  laws  does  not 

apply  to  the  nav  ^l  service.—/^  Phila.,  211. 
(2)  See  "  Federal  Citizenship  by  Inheritance,"  p.  5. 


24  FKDERAL    CITIZENSHIP. 

tion  and  the  service  he  had  rendered  on  an  American 
vessel  following  it,  for  the  reason  that  he,  being  still  a 
foreign  subject,  had  gone  without  the  "  dominion  and 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States"  during  the  period  of 
his  employment  in  a  foreign  vessel  or  on  foreign  soil.  In 
like  manner,  and  for  like  reason,  A.  B.,  who  has  been 
a  resident  of  the  United  States  for  three  years,  declares 
his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  and 
then  removes  to  a  foreign  state  where  he  follows  his  or- 
dinary i  vocation,  has,  on  his  return  to  the  United  States, 
forfeited  all  the  advantage  gained  by  him  through  his 
past  residence  and  his  declaration  of  intention  ;  and  to 
lawfully  acquire  Federal  citizenship,  it  will  be  necessary 
for  him  to  begin  de  novo,  as  if  he  had  never  been  a  resi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  or  had  never  made  a  declaration 
of  intention  to  become  a  citizen.  A  residence  thus  inter- 
rupted can  not  have  been  continuous,  an.d  it  has  not, 
therefore,  been  bona  fide.  Residence  is,  consequently,  an 
essential  element  in  the  naturalization  of  an  alien.  If 
there  is  any  irregularity  in  this  respect,  it  must,  neces- 
vSarily,'  be  fatal  to  all  other  proceedings  in  the  applicant's 
efforts  to  become  naturalized.  A  declaration  of  inten- 
tion makes  no  change  in  an  alien's  allegiance.  He  re- 
mains as  much  a  subject  of  a  foreign  country  as  if  he  had 
made  no  declaration  of  intention  to  renounce  his  allegi- 
ance to  it ;  and  he  continues  to  owe  allegiance  to  it  until 
the  laws  of  this  country  permit  him  to  perform  the  final 
act  of  renunciation  ;  that  is,  "a  foreign  subject  remains 
such  until  naturalization  is  complete  according  to  our 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  25 

laws  (i)."  He  owes  no  allegiance  to  the  government  of 
the  United  States  ;  nor  has  that  government  any  claim 
upon  his  allegiance  until  his  original  allegiance  shall 
have  been  renounced.  As  a  foreigner  residing  within 
the  dominion  of  the  United  States,  the  Federal  govern- 
ment has  nominal  jurisdiction  over  him.  But  if  he  passes 
out  of  its  dominion,  he  also  passes  out  of  its  jurisdiction, 
and  the  act  must  be  construed  as  an  abandonment  of  his 
declared  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States;  and  all  the  advantage  he  may  have  acquired  under 
such  declaration,  and  during  the  time  of  his  residence 
within  the  dominion  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States,  up  to  the  time  of  leaving  such  dominion 
and  escaping  from  such  jurisdiction,  will  have  been  for- 
ever forfeited.  Return  to  the  country  does  not  relieve 
the  forfeiture,  no  matter  how  brief  the  absence  from  it  or 
the  object  of  such  absence. 

Wherever  it  has  been  possible  for  Congress  to  express, 
in  the  naturalization  laws,  the  necessity  for  the  intending 
citizen  to  preserve  an  unbroken  residence  during  the 
probationary  term  of  five  years,  so  as  to  regularly  qual- 
ify, it  has  emphasized  the  declaration,  even  going  so  far 
as  to  refuse  to  permit  the  oath  of  the  applicant  on  the 
subject  to  be  taken  by  the  court,  placing  that  responsible 
duty  upon  those  who  are  citizens,  on  the  presumption 
that  their  loyalty  to  the  government  is  a  barrier  to  fraud, 
and  their  disinterestedness  a  defence  against  perjury, 
which  a  foreigner,  in  his  overweening  desire  to  acquire 
Federal  citizenship,  might  be  tempted  to  commit. 

(1)  ^4  DUlon,  425  ;  25  F.  R.,  673  ;  3  Wall  jr.  i. 


26  FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP. 

"The  oath  of  the  applicant  shallin  no  case  be  allowed  to  prove  his  resi- 
dence."—7?^^.  Siats.  U.  5.,  Sec.  2165,  Subdiv.  j. 

If  the  court  should  take  his  testimony  on  the  subject 
under  oath,  and  he  should  swear  falsely,  it  cannot  form 
the  basis  of  a  charge  of  perjury,  for  the  reason  that  it  is 
extra  judicial  (i).  The  courts,  therefore,  require  the 
testimony,  under  oath,  of  at  least  two  citizens  of  good 
standing  to  determine  the  residence  qualification  of  the 
applicant,  it  being  reasonably  presumed  that  their  loy- 
alty to  the  government  and  to  the  principles  of  our  re- 
publican institutions,  will  prevent  them  from  giving  false 
evidence..  Should  they,  however,  testify  falsely,  they 
may  be  held  for  perjury.  These  witnesses  must  be  able 
to  testify  under  oath,  of  their  own  knowledge  (2),  that  the 
applicant  has  been  a  resident  of  the  United  States  for 
five  years  at  least,  and  within  the  State  or  Territory 
wherein  the  court  is  held  for  at  least  one  year  (see  p.  19). 
But  the  order  of  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  admit- 
ting an  alien  to  citizenship,  is  in  the  nature  of  a  judg- 
ment, and,  in  the  absence  of  fraud,  is  conclusive  as  to 
the  question  of  the  requisite  length  of  residence  of  the 
naturalized  citizen  in  the  United  States  (3).  The  nat- 
uralization of  an  alien,  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
is  strictly  a  judicial  act.  The  action  of  the  court  must 
be  entered  of  record  as  its  judgment,  and,  if  valid,  it  is 
final,  and  closes  inquiry  (4).  But,  per  contra,  if  it  be 
shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  that  it  has  been 

(i)   30  Fed.  Rep.,  672  ;  5  Abb.  Dig.,  96. 

(2)  "Naturalization  cannot  be  proved  by  parol."— j/  Fed.  Rep.,  106 ;  sAbb. 

Dig;  95. 

(3)  2  Abb.  U.  S  ,  434  ;  4  Peters,  393. 

(4)  31  Fed.  Rep.  106  ;   5  Abb,  Dig.  96. 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  27 

imposed  upon  and  deceived;  and  that  naturalization  has 
been  secured  by  fraud,  it  has  the  power  and  must  set 
aside  the  order  admitting  the  alien  to  citizenship,  which 
act  restores  him  to  his  original  allegiance  ;  but  the  wit- 
nesses, through  whose  false  testimony  the  court  was  im- 
posed upon  and  the  fraud  was  committed,  may  be  held 
for  perjury. 

The  applicant  for  admission  to  Federal  citizen- 
ship must  be  acquainted  with  the  provisions 
of  the  Federal  Constitution  and  in  sympathy 
with  its  principles,  otherwise  he  cannot  intel- 
ligently and  truthfully  declare  that  he  will  support  it  or 
the  government  of  which  it  is  the  fundamental  law.  He 
must,  also,  sever  absolutely  all  his  civil  and  political  ob- 
ligations to  the  sovereignty  of  which  he  has  been,  up  to 
that  time,  a  subject  or  citizen,  for  there  can  be  no  sincer- 
ity or  security  in  a  divided  allegiance. 

He  shall,  at  the  time  of  his  application  to  be  admitted,  declare,  on  oath, 
before  some  one  of  the  courts  above  specified,  that  he  will  support  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  and  that  he  absolutely  and  entirely  renounces 
and  abjures  all  allegiance  to  every  foreign  prince,  potentate,  state,  or  sov- 
ereignty ;  and,  particularly,  by  name,  to  the  prince,  potentate,  state,  or  sov- 
ereignty of  which  he  was  before  a  citizen  or  subject  ;  which  proceedings 
shall  be  recorded  by  the  clerk  of  the  court.— ^^z/.   Siais.    U.  S.,  Sec.  2165,  Sub. 

Hereditary  Titles  a7id  Orders  of  Nobility. 

Hereditary  titles  and  orders  of  nobility  are  outgrowths 
of  monarchical  institutions,  repugnant  to  our  form  of  gov- 
ernment, which  is  •  'of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for 
the  people,"  and  in  violent  antagonism  to  that  funda- 
mental truth  which  constitutes  the  foundation  stone  of 
American  liberty — "that  all  men  are  created  equal  (i).'* 

(i)  Declaration  of  Independence. 


28  PKDKRAI.    CITIZE:nSHIP. 

Such  titles  and  orders  also  carry  with  them  obligations, 
more  or  less  specific  and  binding,  from  the  wearer  to  the 
State  and  government  whence  they  have  been  derived. 
If,  therefore,  an  alien  applying  for  Federal  citizenship,  is 
possessed,  by  inheritance  or  by  investiture,  of  any  title 
or  order  of  nobility,  he  cannot  qualify  and  retain  any  of 
these  dignities.  They  must  be  surrendered  absolutely 
and  irrevocably.  The  law  permits  no  compromise  on  the 
subject.  If,  then,  the  law  is  so  unyielding  on  the  subject 
of  the  retention  of  any  hereditary  title  or  order  of  nobil- 
ity, it  is  reasonable  to  presume  that  the  acceptance  by  an 
American  citizen,  whether  native-born  or  naturalized,  of 
any  order  of  nobility  or  title  from  any  foreign  prince,  or 
potentate,  sovereignty  or  state,  unless  Congress  by  special 
act  should  consent,  places  his  citizenship  in  jeopardy,  if 
he  does  not  in  fact  forfeit  it ;  for,  inasmuch  as  the  renun- 
ciation of  such  title  or  order  is  made  a  special  condition 
of  admission  to  citizenship,  and  its  retention  constitutes  a 
bar,  an  acceptance  of  it  by  a  citizen  will,  by  the  same 
process  of  reasoning,  work  a  forfeiture  of  citizenship  (i). 
So  repugnant  were  orders  of  nobility  and  hereditary  titles 
to  the  founders  of  the  Government  that  special  prohib- 
itory provisions  relating  to  them  were  incorporated  in  the 
Federal  Constitution. 

(i)  The  author  is  free  to  admit  that  the  Federal  Constitution  is  silent  as 
to  citizens  not  holding  public  office.  Orders  of  nobility  have  been  conferrf  d  on 
American  citizens  by  foreign  princes,  and  accepted  by  them  without  asking 
for  or  receiving  the  consent  of  Congress,  and  without  surrender  of  their  citi- 
zenship. Their  right  to  accept  such  order  of  nobility  and  retain  citizenship 
has  never,  so  far  as  the  author  has  been  able  to  discover,  been  brought  under 
judicial  consideration,  and  it  is,  therefore,  still  open.  However,  there  can  be 
no  resisting  the  conclusion  that  if  a  national  favor  is  secured  by  a  special  re- 
nunc  ation,  an  acceptance  of  that  which  serves  as  a  bar  to  receiving  that  favor 
must  of  itself  operate  as  a  forfeiture  of  the  favor. 


FEDERAI.    CITIZENSHIP.  29 

Sec.  9.  *  *  *  No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States. 
And  no  person  holding  any  Office  of  Profit  or  Trust  under  them,  shall,  without 
the  Consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  Present.  Emolument,  Office  or  Title 
of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  King,  Prince  or  foreign  State, 

Sec.  10.  No  State  shall  *  *  *  grant  any  Title  of  Nobility.— ^r/.  /, 
Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

In  case  the  alien  applying  to  be  adnitted  to  citizenship  has  borne  any 
hereditary  title,  or  been  of  any  of  the  orders  of  nobility  in  the  kingdom  or 
state  from  which  he  came,  he  shall,  in  addition  to  the  above  requisites,  make 
an  express  renunciation  of  his  title  or  order  of  nobi  ity  in  the  court  to  which 
his  application  is  made,  and  his  renunciation  shall  be  recorded  in  the  court. — 
Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  2165,  Sub.  4. 

Most  of  the  State  constitutions  also  contain  provisions 
prohibiting  the  issuance  of  orders  of  nobility  or  the  grant- 
ing of  hereditary  titles  by  the  State. 


Naturalization  by  Privilege. 

There  are  exceptions  to  some  of  the  foregoing  rules  of 
naturalization  provided  for  by  statute,  and  which  may  be 
classed  as  privileged.  The  case  of  the  widow  and  orphans 
of  an  alien  resident  who,  after  declaring  his  intention  to 
become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  is  prevented  by 
death  from  fulfilling  the  other  requirements  of  the  nat- 
uralization laws  and  completing  his  citizenship,  has 
already  been  cited  (see  p.  8).  Another  exception  is 
made  in  the  case  of  an  alien  who  does  military  service  for 
the  country.  An  alien  who  offers  his  life  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States,  offers,  it  is  presumed,  the  strongest 
evidence  of  his  devotion  to  the  principles  of  the  govern- 
ment and  republican  institutions,  and  a  bona  fide  desire  to 
adopt  them  as  his  own.  He  is,  therefore,  privileged  to  be 
admitted  to  Federal  citizenship  after  one  year's  residence 
in  the  United  States,  coupled  with  an  honorable  discharge 


30  FBDBRAI.    CITIZENSHIP. 

from  the  service  of  the  United  States,  provided  he  was  of 
age  at  the  time  of  his  enlistment. 

Any  alien,  of  the  age  of  twenty  one  years  and  upward,  who  has  enlisted,  or 
may  enlist,  in  the  armies  ol  the  United  States,  either  the  regular  or  the  volun- 
teer forces,  and  has  been,  or  may  be  hereafter,  honorably  discharged,  shall  be 
admitted  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  states,  upon  his  petition,  without 
any  previous  declaration  of  his  intention  to  become  such  ;  and  he  shall  not  be 
required  to  prove  more  than  one  year's  residence  within  the  United  States  pre- 
vious to  his  application  to  become  such  citizen  ;  and  the  court  admitting  such 
alien  shall,  in  addition  to  such  proof  of  residence  and  good  moral  character, 
as  now  provided  by  law,  be  satisfied  by  competent  proof  of  such  person's  hav- 
ing been  honorably  discharged  from  the  service  of  the  United  States.— ^^z*. 
Stats.  U.S.,  Sec.  2166. 

An  alien,  who  has  done  military  service  for  the  United 
States,  may  thus  acquire  Federal  citizenship  without 
making  any  declaration  of  his  intention  to  become  one, 
his  enlistment  being  accepted  as  a  satisfactory  substitute 
therefor.  This  rule  also  applies  to  the  navy  (i),  but  not 
to  marines  (2). 

Naturalization  without  Probatio7i  after  Declaration 
of  Inte7itio7i. 

It  is  possible,  however,  for  an  alien  who  has  rendered 
no  military  or  other  service  to  the  United  States,  which 
would  entitle  him  to  be  privileged,  to  acquire  Federal 
citizenship  without  submitting  to  any  interval  of  proba- 
tion between  the  time  the  declaration  of  intention  is  made 
and  the  consummation  of  the  final  act  of  admission.  The 
declaration  of  intention,  in  such  a  case,  shall  be  made  at 
the  time  of  admission,  and  must  be  retro-active  in  its 
form,  namel}^  that,  for  tivo  years  next  preceding^  it 
has  been  the  applicant's  bo7ia  fide  intention  to  become 
-a  citizen  of  the  United  States.     The  alien  coming  under 

(1)  7  Rob.,  N.  Y.,  635. 

(2)  2  Sawyer,  200;  2  Daly,  N.  Y.,  525. 


FEDKRAI.  CITIZENSHIP.  3 1 

the  Operation  of  this  statutory  provision  must  have 
reached  the  United  States  at  least  three  years  next  pre- 
ceding the  attainment  of  his  majority.  But  he  cannot 
claim  admission  until  he  shall  have  resided  continuously 
in  the  country  for  a  period  of  five  years,  including  what- 
ever portion  of  his  minority  (if  it  be  not  less  than  three 
years)  he  may  have  resided  continuously  in  the  United 
States.  But  the  continuity  of  his  five  years'  residence  is 
just  as  essential  to  his  acquirement  of  Federal  citizen- 
ship, when  he  enters  the  country  as  a  minor,  reliant 
upon  the  merits  of  residence  only  for  a  proper  qualifica- 
tion, as  it  would  have  been  had  he  entered  the  United 
States  after  reaching  his  majority.  The  declaration  of 
intention,  in  a  minor's  case,  follows  the  period  of  proba- 
tion, instead  of  preceding  or  intersecting  it,  as  in  the  case 
of  an  adult  alien. 

"Any  alien,  being  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  has  resided  in  the 
United  States  three  years  next  preceding  his  arriving  at  that  age,  and  who  has 
continued  to  reside  therein  to  the  time  he  may  make  application  to  be  admit- 
ted a  citizen  thereo,  may,  after  he  arrives  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and 
after  he  has  resided  five  years  within  the  United  States,  including  the  three 
years  of  his  minority,  be  admitted  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  without  hav- 
ing made  the  declaration  required  in  the  first  condition  of  section  twenty-one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  ;  but  such  alien  shall  make  the  declaration  required 
therein  at  the  time  of  his  admission  ;  and  shall  further  declare,  on  oath,  and 
prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court,  that  for  two  years  next  preceding,  it  has 
been  his  *o«a /?cf^  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  ;  and  he 
shall  in  all  other  respects  comply  with  the  laws  in  regard  to  naturalization."— 
Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  2167. 

FEDKRAIy  CITIZENSHIP   BY   TREATY. 

It  has  already  been  shown  how  the  Russian  citizens  of 
Alaska,  Mexicans  inhabiting  the  territory  ceded  under 
the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  the  Spanish  citizens  of 
the  Floridas,  and  the  French  citizens  of  I^ouisiana,  were 


32  FKDKRAL   CITIZENSHIP. 

endowed,  at  the  time  of  the  territorial  transfer,  with  the 
right  of  United  States  citizenship  by  special  provisions  in 
each  of  the  several  treaties  ratified  by  the  powers  con- 
cerned (see  p.  lo).  By  treaty,  some  of  the  Indian  tribes 
have,  also,  been  enabled  to  acquire  Federal  citizenship. 
The  Wyandotts,  the  Pottawatomies,  the  Ottawas,  the 
Delawares,  Miamis,  and  various  tribes  in  Kansas,  have 
been  admitted  to  Federal  citizenship  by  treaty  at  intervals 
during  the  past  forty  years.  But  the  subject  is  discussed 
at  greater  length  in  another  part  of  this  volume  in  consid- 
ering the  political  status  of  the  aboriginal  tribes. 

FKDKRAI,   CITIZENSHIP   BY   SPECIAL   CONGRESSIONAL 
LEGISLATION. 

The  act  of  Congress  providing  an  uniform  rule  of  nat- 
uralization for  the  guidance  of  all  the  States  and  Territo- 
ries in  the  admission  of  aliens  to  citizenship  contained 
several  provisions  for  the  special  admission  of  persons 
therein  specified.  For  those  aliens  who  were  residing  in 
the  United  States  before  January  29,  1795,  a  term  of  two 
years  comprised  the  residence  qualification,  with,  of 
course,  the  customary  abjuration  of  allegiance  and  fidelity 
to  any  foreign  power  and  a  sworn  declaration  to  support 
the  Federal  Constitution. 

Any  alien  who  was  residing  within  the  limits  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States  before  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  January,  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  ninety-five,  mav  be  admitted  to  become  a  citizen,  on  due  proof 
made  to  some  one  of  the  courts  above  specified,  that  he  has  resided  two  years, 
at  least,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  and  one  year,  at 'least, 
immediately  preceding  his  application ,  within  the  State  or  Territory  where 
such  court  is  at  the  time  held  ;  and  on  his  declaring  on  oath  that  he  will  sup- 
port the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  that  he  absolutely  and  en- 
tirely renounces  and  abjures  all  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  any  foreign 
prince,  potentate,  state,   or  sovereignty,   and  particularly,  by  name,   to  the 


J'^EDBRAL   CITIZENSHIP.       ^  33 

princ^,  potentate,  state,  or  sovereignty  whereof  he  was  before  a  citizen  or 
subject ;  and,  also,  on  its  appearing  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court,  that  dur- 
ing such  term  of  two  years  ne  has  behaved  as  a  man  of  good  moral  character, 
attached  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  well  disposed  to  the 
good  order  ^nd  happiness  of  the  same  ;  and  where  the  alien,  applying  for  ad- 
mission to  citizenship,  has  borne  any  hereditary  title,  or  been  of  any  of  the 
orders  of  nobility  in  the  kingdom  or  state  from  which  he  came,  on  his,  more- 
over, making  in  the  court  an  express  renunciation  of  his  title  or  order  of  no- 
bility. All  of  the  proceedings,  required  in  this  condition  to  be  performed  in 
the  court,  shall  be  recorded  by  the  clerkthereof  — ^<?z/.  Siais.  U.  S.,  Sec.  2165, 
Subd.  5 

Another  opportunity  to  secure  admission  on  special 
conditions  was  ajBforded  aliens  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak 
of  hostilities  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  in  1812,  that  is,  to  such  of  them  as  resided  in  the 
United  States  between  June  18,  1798,  and  June  18,  18 12. 

Any  alien  who  was  residing  within  the  limits  and  jurisdiction  of  the 
the  United  States,  between  the  eighteenth  day  of  June,  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  ninety-eight,  and  the  eighteenth  day  of  June,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  twelve,  and  who  has  continued  to  reside  within  the  same, 
may  be  admitted  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  without  having 
made  any  previous  declaration  of  his  intention  to  become  such  ;  but  when- 
ever any  person,  without  a  certificate  of  such  declaration  of  intention,  makes 
application  to  be  admitted  a  citizen,  it  must  be  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of 
tne  court,  that  the  applicant  was  residing  within  the  limits  and  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  before  the  eighteenth  day  of  June,  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  twelve,  and  has  continued  to  reside  within  the  same  ; 
and  the  residence  of  the  applicant  within  the  limits  and  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  United  States,  for  at  least  five  years  immediately  preceding  the 
time  of  such  application,  must  be  proved  by  the  oath  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  which  citizens  shall  be  named  in  the  record  as  witnesses  ;  and  such 
continued  residence  within  the  limits  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  when  satisfactorily  proved,  and  the  place  where  the  applicant  has  re- 
sided for  at  least  five  years,  shall  be  stated  and  set  forth,  together  with  the 
names  of  such  citizens,  in  the  record  of  the  court  admitting  the  applicant; 
otherwise  the  same  shall  not  entitle  him  to  be  considered  and  deemed  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States  —i?^i'.  Siats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  2165,  Sub.  6. 

No  alien  who  is  a  native  citizen,  or  subject,  or  a  denizen  of  any  country, 
state,  or  sovereignty,  with  which  the  United  States  are  at  war,  at  the  time  of 
his  application,  shall  be  then  admitted  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States ;  but  persons  resident  within  the  United  Spates,  or  the  Territories 
thereof,  on  the  eighteenth  day  of  June,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  twelve,  who  had  before  that  day  made  a  declaration,  according  to 
law,  of  their  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  who  were 
on  that  day  entitled  to  become  citizens  without  making  such  declaration,  may 
be  entitled  to  become  citizens  thereof,  notwithstanding  they  were  alien  ene- 
mies at  the  time  and  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  Taws  heretofore  passed 
on  that  subject ;  nor  shall  anything  herein  contained  be  taken  or  construed 
to  interfere  with  or  prevent  the  apprehension  and  removal,  agreeably  to  law, 
of  any  alien  enemy  at  any  time  previous  to  the  actual  naturalization  of  such 
&\\^n.—Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  2171. 


34  FEDKRAI.    CITIZENSHIP. 

The  acquisition  of  territory  in  the  Northwest,  then 
known  as  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  brought  another  class, 
of  persons  under  the  influence  of  special  legislation,  and 
they  were  thus  given  citizenship. 

All  persons  born  in  the  district  of  country  fottnerly  known  as  the  Territory 
of  Oregon,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  vStates  on  the  i8th  of 
May,  1872,  are  citizens  in  the  same  manner  as  if  born  elsewhere  in  the 
United  States.— J?ev.  Stais.  U.  S.,  Sec.  7995. 

The  power  of  Congress,  by  special  act,  to  admit  in- 
eligibles  to  Federal  citizenship,  is  fully  treated  hereafter. 

FEDKRAI,    CITIZENSHIP    BY   TERRITORIAI,   ADMISSION   TO 
STATEHOOD. 

Congress  is  clothed  with  power  to  admit  a  Territory  to 
the  Union  of  States  on  such  terms  and  conditions  as  it 
may  deem  fit  (i).  There  has  been  no  uniformity  about 
the  manner  in  which  this  power  has  been  exercised.  In 
some  instances,  the  adoption  of  an  act  to  enable  the  in- 
habitants of  a  Territory  to  organize  a  State  government 
and  adopt  a  State  constitution,  was  the  method  emplo3^ed 
by  Congress.  Compliance  with  the  conditions  of  the  En- 
abling Act  constituted  admission  without  further  action 
of  Congress.  In  other  instances,  Congressional  action 
was  antecedent,  and  in  still  other  cases  both  precedent 
and  antecedent,  to  the  forming  of  a  Constitution  and  a 
State  government  by  the  territorial  inhabitants.  The 
same  lack  of  uniformity  is  noticeable  in  the  Congress- 
ional conditions  of  admission  and  in  the  language  ex- 
pressing the  status  of  the  new  State.  The  Act  of  Admis- 
sion in  some  cases  admitted  the  Territory  to  Statehood  in 

(i)  Sec.  3,  Art.  IV,  Federal  Constitution. 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  35 

the  Union  '*  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States;" 
in  other  cases,  "on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original 
States  in  all  respeds  whatever  ;"  and,  in  other  cases,  "  on 
an  equal  footing  with  the  other  States  in  all  respects  what- 
•ever." 

The  Articles  of  Confederation  of  the  thirteen  original 
States  (i)  contained  this  definition  of  citizenship  in  the 
nnion  of  States  : 

"  The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate  mutual  friendship  and  intercourse 
among  the  people  of  the  different  States  in  this  Union,  the  free  inhabitants  of 
■each  of  these  States  (paupers,  vagabonds  and  fugitives  from  justice  excepted), 
shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunites  of  free  citizens  in  the  sev- 
•eral  States."— ^y/.  IV,  Articles  of  Confederation. 

Freedom,  residence,  self-dependence  and  good  repute 
thus  constituted  the  sole  qualifications  of  citizenship  in 
the  confederation  of  the  original  States,  separately  and 
collectively.  The  admission  of  a  Territory  to  the  Union 
of  States  "on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States 
in  all  respects  whatever,"  may,  therefore,  imply  that  the 
political  status  and  the  standard  of  State  and  Federal 
citizenship  of  its  inhabitants,  at  the  time  of  its  admis- 
sion, are  identical  with  the  political  status  and  standard 
of  citizenship  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  original  States 
when  they  formed  the  Union.  If  so,  it  is  unnecessary 
for  an  alien  inhabitant  of  a  Territory  thus  entering  the 
Union  of  States  (if  such  inhabitant  is  free,  self-de- 
pendent and  of  good  repute),  to  comply  with  any  of  the 
requirements  of  the  naturalization  laws  created  by  Con- 
gress, for  the  Act  of  Admission  would  be,  in  its  rela- 
tions to  such  alien  inhabitant,  a  special  act  of  natural- 

(i)  Agreed  to  Nov.  15,  1777. 


36  FEDKRAI.  CITIZENSHIP. 

ization,  as  effective  in  its  operation  as  any  special  act 
passed  by  Congress  for  the  admission  to  Federal  citizen- 
ship of  any  person  or  persons  ineligible  (i)  to  receive  it 
under  the  ordinary  rules  and  methods  of  acquisition  (2). 

ABRIDGED   PRIVII.EGES    OF   NATURAI.IZED   CITIZENS. 

Presumptively  there  is  no  difference  or  distinction  be- 
tween one  Federal  citizen  and  another.  The  Fourteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution  made  the  native-born 
and  the  naturalized  citizens  of  the  United  States 
equal,  and  prohibited  the  States,  in  their  separate  and 
independent  capacity,  from  abridging  their  privileges  or 
immunities.  For  all  that,  the  Federal  Constitution 
abridges  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  the  naturalized 
citizen  as  compared  with  those  enjoyed  by  the  citizen  of 
native  birth,  and  an  age  limitation  is  placed  also  on  the 
native-born. 

(i)   Such   as  an  act  admitting  an  Indian,  or  an   Indian   tribe,  to  Federal 
citizenship. 

{2)  The  right  of  an  alien  inhabitant  of  a  Territory  entering  Statehood,  who 
has  taken  none  of  the  s  eps  prescribed  in  the  naturalization  laws,  to  State  and 
Federal  citizenship  under  the  provision  contained  in  the  Act  of  Admission 
of  the  Territory,  to  wit :  "on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States  in  all 
respects  whatever,"  is  being  tested  in  the  courts.  James  E.  Boyd,  a  person  of 
foreign  birth,  who  had  resided  in  Nebraska  for  over  thirty-five  years,  was 
elected  Governor  of  that  State  in  1890.  His  right  to  the  office  was,  however, 
challenged  on  the  ground  that  he  was  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  State?,  rot 
having  been  naturalized,  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  Nebraska  sustained  the 
challenge,  and  ousted  Boyd  from  office,  whereupon  he  appealed  to  the  SvprCiue 
Court  of  the  United  States.  The  appellant  relies  mainly  on  the  lact  tnat  he 
was  a  resident  of  the  Territory  of  Nebraska  when  it  was  admitted  to  the  Union 
of  States  "on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States  in  eveiy  respect  what- 
ever ;"  and  that,  as  a  result  of  the  Act  of  Admission,  he  became  a  citizen  of 
the  State  and  of  the  United  Sta:es,  in  the  same  manner,  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances, and  on  the  same  conditions  as  a  resident  of  one  of  the  original 
thirteen  States  became  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  under  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  creating  the  Union,  namely,  that  of  being  a  free  inhabitant, 
sell-dependent  and  of  good  repute. 


FEDBRA.I,  CITIZENSHIP.  37 

No  naturalized  citizen  can  ever  be  President  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  in  some  of  the  States  naturalized 
citizens  are  not  eligible  to  the  Governorship.  As  origi- 
nally adopted,  the  Federal  Constitution  restricted  eligi- 
bility to  the  Presidency  to  natural  born  citizens  or  citizens 
of  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  its  adoption.  But 
neither  class  could  then  attain  the  Presidency  unless 
thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  fourteen  years  a  resident  of 
the  country.  No  foreign -born  citizen  at  the  time 
of  the  formation  of  the  government  was,  consequent- 
ly, eligible  unless  he  had  participated  in  the  struggle 
for  independence,  and  had  fully  alienated  himself 
from  the  mother  country.  But,  on  the  qualifications 
of  the  Vice-President,  the  Constitution  was  silent.  The 
possibility  of  a  citizen  who  was  ineligible  to  the  Presi- 
dency by  election,  obtaining  it  by  right  of  succession,  was 
evidently  apprehended  by  Congress  in  1803,  when  it  sub- 
mitted the  Xllth  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States 
for  ratification,  for  that  amendment  specifically  provided 
that  ' '  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office 
of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States."  But  the  death  of  President  Garfield 
and  the  danger  threatening  the  life  of  Vice-President 
Arthur,  when  he  succeeded  Garfield  as  Preside  nt,  showed 
clearly  the  necessity  of  extending  still  further  the  line  of 
succession.  Therefore,  agreeably  with  the  powers  con- 
ferred by  Clause  6,  Sec.  i,  Art  II,  of  the  Constitution, 
Congress,  in  1886,  provided  more  fully  for  the  succession 


38  FKDBRAIv  CITIZENSHIP. 

to  the  Presidency.  In  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation 
or  inability  of  the  President  or  Vice-President,  this  act  of 
Congress  directs  that  the  office  devolve,  first,  upon  the 
Secretary  of  State,  and  in  case  of  his  inability,  for  any 
reason,  to  perform  its  duties,  it  shall  pass,  successively, 
upon  similar  conditions,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, Secretary  of  War,  Attorney-General,  Postmaster- 
General,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior. If,  however,  any  one  of  these  ofiicers  should  be 
of  foreign  birth,  the  Presidenc}^  passes  to  the  next  name 
in  the  list.  Thus  the  exclusion  of  the  naturalized  citizen 
was  made  more  complete  and  thorough,  and  the  possi- 
bility of  the  head  of  the  Government  falling  into  the 
hands  of  a  person  of  foreign  birth  was  forever  removed. 

A  naturalized  citizen  cannot  hold  a  seat  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  until  he  has  been  seven  years  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States.  Nor  can  a  native-bom  sit  in  the 
House  unless  he  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty- 
five. 

A  naturalized  citizen  cannot  be  a  Senator  of  the  United 
States  unless  he  shall  have  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States  ;  nor  can  a  native-born  unless  he  shall 
have  attained  the  age  of  thirty  years. 

The  allegiance  of  a  native-born  citizen  can  be  transfer- 
red with  a  change  of  sovereignty,  but  that  of  a  natural- 
ized citizen  can  not  be  so  transferred  (see  p.  9). 

In  the  registration  of  a  vessel,  owned  in  part  or  in 
whole,  by  a  Federal  citizen,  there  is  some  discrimination 


FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP.  39 

against   the   naturalized   citizen,    and  his  privileges  are 
abridged. 

No  vessel  shall  be  entitled  to  be  registered  as  a  vessel  of  the  United  States, 
or,  if  registered-,  to  the  benefits  of  registry,  if  owned  in  whole  or  in  part  by 
any  person  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  residing  for  more  than  one 
year  in  the conntry  from  which  he  originated,  or  for  more  than  two  years  in 
any  foreign  country,  unless  such  person  be  a  consul  or  other  public  agent  of 
the  United  States.— J^ev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  4134- 


WHO  ARK  INELlGlBIvE   TO  EEDERAI.  CITIZENSHIP. 

Although  the  Declaration  of  Independence — the  found- 
ation stone  of  American  liberty  and  nationality — declared 
**  that  all  men  are  born  equal,"  Congress  never  deemed 
it  prudent  to  recognize  this  universal  equality  in  the 
human  family,  when  it  exercised  the  authority  vested  in 
it  by  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  provided  an  uniform 
rule  for  the  naturalization  of  such  members  of  the  vari- 
ous races  as  were,  by  the  accident  of  birth,  brought 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  other  governments,  but  who  de- 
sired to  abandon  their  natural  allegiance  and  swear  fealty 
to  the  United  States  as  their  adopted  country.  In  deter- 
mining who  should  be  eligible.  Congress  was  originally 
influenced  to  adopt  the  color  line  as  the  standard,  limit- 
ing eligibility  to  "free  whites,"  because  the  black  man 
was  then  in  a  state  of  bondage  and  degradation  in  sev- 
eral of  the  States,  and,  consequently,  unfit  to  receive  the 
boon  of  citizenship  and  incapable  of  exercising,  of  his 
own  free  will  and  accord,  its  rights  and  privileges,  had  he 
possessed  it ;  and  the  red  man  —the  original  possessor  of 
the  soil — was  still  in  a  state  of  savagery  and  incapable  of 
appreciating   and   intelligently  exercising  and   enjoying 


40  FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP. 

the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  civilized  state,  which  citi- 
zenship would  have  conferred  upon  him.  The  abolition 
of  slavery  gave  the  black  man  an  opportunity,  as  a  free 
and  responsible  member  of  the  body  politic,  to  demon- 
strate his  fitness  for  citizenship,  and  his  capability  to  ex- 
ercise its  rights  and  privileges,  whenever  citizenship 
should  be  conferred  upon  him.  And  so  far  as  the  man  of 
African  nativity  and  African  descent  is  concerned,  he  is 
unaffected  by  any  color  line  now  existing,  and  he  stands 
on  the  same  constitutional  level  as  the  '*  free  white,"  in 
his  relations  to  Federal  citizenship. 

Chinese  Ineligible. 

But  the  red  man  and  the  yellow  man — the  Indian  and 
the  Mongolian — are  still  outside  the  pale  of  statutory 
eligibility  to  Federal  citizenship  ;  the  former,  because  he 
is  still  in  a  savage  or  tribal  state  and  largely  in  a  condi- 
tion of  helpess  dependency  ;  the  latter,  because  he  does 
not  assimilate  with  the  white  and  black  races  and  refuses 
to  adopt  our  form  of  civilization  and  submit  to  our  social 
customs.  There  was,  however,  a  brief  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  country  when  even  Chinese,  notwithstanding 
the  objections  stated,  were  eligible  to  citizenship.  This  was 
brought  about  by  a  levision  of  the  United  States  Statutes, 
by  Congress,  June  22,  1874,  when,  through  an  oversight 
of  the  revisers,  the  words,  "  being  a  free  white  person," 
were  omitted  from  the  section  in  the  naturalization  laws 
declaring  that  "any  alien,  being  a  free  white  person, 
may  be   admitted  to   become  a  citizen."     Through  this 


FKDERAI.    CITIZENSHIP.  41 

omission  all  barriers  growing  out  of  race,  color  or  condi- 
tion were  broken  down,  and  the  equalit}^  of  man  was 
recognized  in  its  broadest  and  most  liberal  meaning  and 
significance  in  the  naturalization  laws  of  the  country  (i). 
Congress  corrected  the  error,  however,  on  February 
18,  1875,  by  making  the  provisions  of  the  "Naturaliza- 
tion" title  of  the  Revised  Statutes  "apply  to  aliens,  being 
free  white  persons,  and  to  aliens  of  African  nativit}^  and 
persons  of  African  descent,"  During  the  interval  be- 
tween the  dates  mentioned — ^June  22,  1874,  and  February 
18,  1875 — Chinese  were  held  to  be  eligible  to  become 
citizens  of  the  United  States  (2),  and  any  Chinaman 
who  may  have  been  admitted  to  Federal  citizenship  by 
any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  between  those  dates, 
cannot  now  be  disturbed  in  the  enjoyment  of  "the  im- 
munities and  privileges"  which  admission  to  citizenship 
gave  him.  The  action  taken  by  Congress  on  the  i8th 
of  Februaiy,  1875,  renewed,  however,  the  ineligibility  of 
all  persons  not  white  or  black,  and  a  native  of  China,  of 
Mongolian  race,  has  since  been  denied  admission  to  citi- 
zenship b}^  the  courts,  for  the  reason  that  he  is  not  a 
white  person  within  the  meaning  of  the  act  (3).  This 
interpretation  of  the  language  of  the  act  was  clearly  in 
harmony  with  the  intent  of  Congress  ;  and  to  set  aside 
all  doubt  on  the  subject,  Congress  subsequently  forbid 
the  naturalization  o    Chinese  by  either  State  or  Federal 

(,i\  Some  of  the  courts  expres  ed  doubt  as  to  the  status  of  the  Indian,  be- 
ing inclined  to  believe  that  the  omission  removed  /i/s  disabilities 
also. 

(2)  5  Sawyer,  155. 

(3)  Id. 


42  FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP. 

courts  (i).  A  native  of  China,  of  Mongolian  race,  is, 
therefore,  now  absolutely  ineligible  to  citizenship  in  the 
United  States. 

Indians  Ineligible. 

The  Indian,  or  red  man,  occupies  an  anomalous  posi- 
tion as  regards  citizenship.  Although  a  native  of  the 
soil,  he  is  not  a  citizen  ;  nor  is  he  eligible  to  citizenship 
in  his  normal  condition ;  nor  can  he  acquire  citizenship 
when  brought  within  the  range  of  eligibility,  by  any  of 
the  ordinary  methods  of  acquiring  it.  Being  within  the 
territorial  limits  of  the  United  States,  the  Indian  tribes, 
are  not  really  foreigners.  They  are,  for  all  that,  alien 
nations  and  distinct  political  communities,  with  whom 
the  United  States  deal  as  they  see  fit,  either  by  treaty  (2) 
made  by  the  President  and  Senate,  or  by  act  of  Congress 
in  the  ordinary  forms  of  legislation.  They  are  in  a  state 
of  pupilage,  resembling  that  of  a  ward  to  his  guardian 
(3),  and  as  a  ward  of  the  nation,  the  member  of  an  In- 
dian tribe  is  entitled  to  a  share  of  the  protection  which 
the  Federal  government  casts  around  all  the  native  tribes 
domiciled  within  its  dominions.  If  an  Indian  shall  have 
severed  his  tribal  relations  and  assumed  the  habits  and 

(1)  "  Hereafter  no  state  court  or  court  of  the  United  States  shall  admit 
Chinese  to  citizenship." — Act  of  Congress,  May  6,  1882,  22  Stats.  5/. 

Congress  was,  no  doubr,  influenced  to  embrace  this  prohibition  in  the  act, 
because  some  judges  had  rendered  dtcisions  adverse  to  that  of  United  States 
Circuit  Judge  Lorenzo  Sawyer  in  the  Ah  Yup  case. 

(2)  The  United  States  have  ceased  to  make  treaties  with  Indian  tribes. 

(3)  5  Pet.  I  ;  6  Pet.  515  :   5  Wall.  737,  761  ;   21  How.,  370  ;   3  Wall.  407  ;  '•  cr  of  a 

provisional  government  to  the  nation," — 18  How.,  100;  i  McL,ean, 
254  ;  102  U.  S. ,  147.  "  Indian  tribes  are  States,  in  a  certain  sense,  al- 
though not  foreign  States,  or  States  of  the  United  States,  within  the 
meaning  of  the  statutes.     17  Wall.,  211. 


FEDERAI.    CITIZENSHIP.  '43 

customs  of  civilized  society,  he  is  entitled  to  many  of  the 
rights  of  a  Federal  citizen  without  being  one.  and  with- 
out having  the  power,  like  other  persons  (Chinese  ex- 
cepted), of  becoming  one  in  the  ordinary  way.  The  line 
of  separation  between  the  Indian  population  and  other  in- 
habitants of  the  United  States,  is  so  clear  and  distinct,  that 
general  acts  of  Congress  do  not  apply  to  them,  unless  so 
expressed  as  to  clearly  manifest  an  intention  to  include 
them  (i).  And  this  alien  and  independent  condition  of 
the  Indian  cannot  be  put  off  by  them  at  their  own  will, 
no  matter  how  strongly  and  earnestly  they  may  desire  it, 
without  the  consent  of  the  United  States.  Prior  to  187 1 , 
the  United  States  Government  dealt  with  the  native  tribes 
as  independent  nations,  and  contracted  with  them  by 
treaty.  But  on  March  3,  1871,  Congress  passed  an  act 
declaring  that  '  'no  Indian  nation  or  tribe  within  the  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States  shall  be  recognized  as  an  inde- 
pendent nation,  tribe  or  person  with  whom  the  United 
States  may  contract  by  treaty  (2)."  This  act  did  not," 
however,  invalidate  or  impair  any  treaty  lawfully  made 
and  ratified  before  that  date.  The  impairment  or  invali- 
dating of  an  Indian  treaty  obligation  depends  on  the  per- 
formance of  some  act  of  hostility  toward  the  United  States 
by  the  tribe  with  whom  the  treaty  was  made,  and  a  sub- 
en  5  Peters,  i;  6  Peters,  515;  4  How.,  567;  3  WaUace.  407;  5  Wallace,  761; 
II  Wallace,  616:    103  U.  S.,  44;  109  U.  S.,  556. 

(2;  No  Indian  tribe  or  n  tion  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  acknowledged  or  recognized  as  an  independent  nation,  tribe  or  power 
with  whom  the  United  States  may  contract  by  treaty;  but  no  obligation  of  any 
treaty  law,  fully  made  and  ratified  with  any  such  Indian  nation  or  tribe  prior 
to  March''3,  1871,  shall  be  hereby  invalidated  or  impaired.~y?^z^.  Stats.  U.  S., 
Sec.  2079. 


44  FBDKRAL    CITIZENSHIP. 

sequent  proclamation  by  the  President  (i).  The  dis- 
tinctive status  of  an  Indian  tribe,  as  compared  with  any- 
other  class  or  race  of  inhabitants  in  the  United  States,  is 
forcibly  illustrated  in  the  fact  that  an  individual  State  with- 
in whose  boundaries  the  tribe  may  be  settled,  has  no  power 
over  it,  nor  over  any  of  its  members  maintaining  their 
tribal  relations.  Nor  do  such  Indians  owe  the  State  any 
allegiance,  and  the  State  can  give  them  no  protection  (2). 
How  far  in  the  line  of  descent  and  admixture  with  other 
races  the  corruption  of  Indian  blood  carries  with  it  ineli- 
gibility to  Federal  citizenship,  has  not  been  determined. 
It  is  certain  that  a  person  of  half  white  and  half  Indian 
blood  is  not  a  "white  person"  within  the  meaning  of  the 
phrase  used  in  the  naturalization  laws,  and  ineligibility 
to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  remains  in  such 
a  person  as  completely  as  if  he  were  an  Indian  of  full 
blood  (3). 

The  adoption  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the 
Federal  Constitution,  which  brought  political  relief  to  the 
negro  race,  brought  no  relief  to  the  Indian  tribes,  for  ' '  an 
Indian  tribe  within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  is  an 
independent  political  community,  in  such  a  sense,  that  a 
child  who  is  a  member  thereof,  though  born  within  the  lim- 
its of  th^e  United  States,  is  not  a  citizen  thereof,  because 
not  born  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States, 
and  therefore,   is  not  a  citizen  within,  the  meaning  of  the 

(i)  Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  2080. 

(2)  118  U.  S.,  375. 

(3)  4  Ohio,  353  :  II  Id.,  372,   377;   12   Id.,   23;  6  Fed.    Rep,   256;  6  Sawyer, 

541  ;  2  Kent.  Com.,  72  ;   i  Sand.  Ch.,  583  ;  q  Atty.  Gen.  op.,  353;  7  Atty. 
Gen.  op  ,  746;   112  U.S.,  94. 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  45 

Fourteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  (i)."  The 
Circuit  Court  of  the  Western  District  of  Arkansas  laid 
down  this  principle:  '*  It  has  been  decided  that  when 
members  of  a  tribe  of  Indians  scatter  themselves  among 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  live  among  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  they  are  merged  in  the  mass 
of  our  people,  owing  complete  allegiance  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  where  they 
reside,  and  equally  with  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  several  States,  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  courts  thereof  (2).  But  the  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple in  this  particular  case  related  only  to  the  right  of 
protection  of  person  or  property,  and  not  to  the  broader 
interpretation  of  citizenship.  Through  an  abandonment 
of  his  tribe,  an  Indian  becomes  a  member  of  the  body 
politic  known  as  citizens  of  the  United  States  only  for  the 
purposes  of  jurisdiction.  Senator  Carpenter,  of  the  Sen- 
ate Judiciary  Committee,  which  had  been  instructed  to 
inquire  into  the  effect  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  upon 
Indian  tribes  and  treaties,  reported  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  December  14,  1870,  that  the  Committee  was  of  the 
opinion  ' '  that  the  Indian  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States  and  the  individual  members  of  such  tribes, 
while  they  adhere  to  and  form  part  of  the  tribes 
to  which  they  belong,  are  not,  within  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  subject  to  the  juris- 
diction of  the  United  States  ;  and,  therefore,  that  such  In- 

(i)   2  Sawyer,  118  ;  i  Dill.,  348. 
(2)  5  Dillon,  386. 


46  FEDERAIv    CITIZENSHIP. 

dians  have  not  become  citizens  of  the  United  States 
by  virtue  of  that  amendment  (i),"  from  which  it  might 
be  inferred  that  the  Committee  deemed  such  Indians  as 
have  severed  their  tribal  relations  do  come  within  the 
meaning  of  the  amendment.  But  it  has  been  judicially 
held  that  "an  Indian  born  a  member  of  one  of  the  Indian 
tribes  within  the  United  States,  which  [tribe]  still  exists, 
who  has  voluntarily  separated  himself  from  his  tribe  and 
taken  up  his  residence  among  the  white  citizens  of  a 
State,  but  who  has  not  been  naturalized,  or  taxed,  or 
recognized  as  a  citizen  by  the  United  States,  is  not  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States  within  the  meaning  of  the  Four- 
teenth Amendment  of  the  Constitution  (2)."  Further- 
more, that  an  Indian  born  within  the  United  States, 
has  severed  his  tribal  relations,  fully  and  completely 
surrendered  himself  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  is  a  bonajide  resident  of  a  given  city,  within  a 
given  State,  is  not  evidence  of  United  States  citizenship 
under  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  (3) . 
To  remove  the  obstacle  of  ineligibility  from  the  person  of 
Indian  birth,  it  requires  something  more  than  the  civilizing 
influences  of  those  already  enjoying  citizenship,  and  there 
is  no  act  which  he  can  perform  that  will  make  him  eligi- 
ble. "An  Indian  cannot  make  himself  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  without  the  consent  and  co-operation  of  the 
government.  The  fact  that  he  has  abandoned  his  nomadic 
life  or  tribal  relations  and  adopted  the  habits  and  manners 

(i)  I  Dillon,  348,  note. 

(2)  112  U.  S.,  94. 

(3)  112  U.S.,  94. 


FEDERAL   CITIZENSHIP.  47 

of  civilized  people,  may  be  good  reason  wh}^  he  should  be 
made  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  but  does  not  of  itself 
make  him  one.  To  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  is  a 
political  privilege  which  no  one,  not  born  to,  can  assume 
without  its  [government's]  consent  in  some  form(i)." 
Indians  cannot  be  naturalized  as  '  'aliens,  being  free  white 
persons,  and  aliens  of  African  nativity  and  persons  of 
African  descent,"  can  be  naturalized.  "The  general 
statutes  of  naturalization  do  not  apply  to  Indians,  but 
they  may  be  naturalized  by  special  act  of  Congress,  or 
by  treaty  (2)."  Nor  does  an  Indian  become  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States  by  being  declared  an  elector  by  any  one 
of  the  States  (3).  To  become  citizens  they  must  comply 
with  some  treaty  providing  for  their  naturalization,  or 
■come  under  the  direct  operation  of  some  statute  authoriz- 
ing individuals  of  special  tribes  to  assume  citizenship 
by  due  process  of  law  (4).  In  the  latter  way,  an  Indian, 
after  severing  his-  tribal  relations,  may  become  a  citizen 
by  Congress  conferring  citizenship  upon  him.  But  he 
cannot  become  a  citizen  unless  the  government  gives  its 
consent  in  some  form  (5). 

The  Wyandotts,  the  Pottawatomies,  the  Ottawas,  the 
Delawares,  the  Miami,  the  Peoria  and  various  tribes  in 
Kansas,  have  been  endowed  with  Federal  citizenship 
through  the  agency  of  treaties  negotiated  with  them  by  the 
United  States,  and  their  tribaj^jjdentity  and  their  polit- 

(i)  6  Sawyer,  406.  .^i^^^-^^ ~R,-«i^' 

2)  7  Atty.  Gen.  op.,  726.       Jy7\^^^  ~" 

(4)  6  Wallace,  83 ;  i  Dilloi/'ai^V.  .,»».^  rH»«— > 
<5)  6  Sawyer,  406.  if  XTH  IVERSITY 


^too'R^V 


4^  FEDERAL   CITIZENSHIP. 

ical  disability  disappeared  at  the  same  time  by  their 
absorption  into  the  body-politic  as  Federal  citizens, 
equipped  with  the  right  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  their 
**  immunities  and  privileges."  Some  of  the  Sioux 
tribes,  the  Winnebagos,  the  Brothertown  and  the  Stock- 
bridge  Indians,  have  been  granted  Federal  citizenship  by 
special  acts  of  Congress  duly  naturalizing  them.  Since 
the  passage  of  the  act  of  March  3,  1871,  the  treaty-mak- 
ing power  with  Indian  tribes  has  ceased,  and  the  natu- 
ralization of  Indians  by  that  process  is  no  longer  possible. 
But,  although  ineligible  to  Federal  citizenship,  except 
by  some  special  act  of  government  removing  his  disabil- 
ity, the  Indian  is  qualified  to  hold  office.  He  is  not 
disqualified  from  holding  even  so  important  an  office  as 
that  of  Chief  of  Bureau,  under  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  United  States  (i).  Full  blood  Indians 
have  held  important  offices  in  some  of  the  States,  al- 
though their  ineligibility  to  State  or  Federal  citizenship 
had  never  been  removed  (2),  and  their  right  to  hold  such 
offices  was  not  disputed.  An  Indian  has,  also,  the  stat- 
utory right  of  a  freeholder,  under  existing  treaties  with 
his  tribe,  provided  he  severs  his  tribal  relations. 

Whenever  any  Indian,  being  a  member  of  any  band  or  tribe  with  whom 
the  Government  has  or  shall  have  entered  into  treaty  stipulations,  being  de- 
sirous to  adopt  the  habits  of  civilized  life,  has  had  a  portion  of  the  land  be- 
longing to  his  tribe  allotted  to  him  in  severalty,  in  pursuance  of  such  treaty 
stipulations,  the  agent  and  superintendent  of  such  tribe  shall  take  such  meas- 
ures, not  inconsistent  with  law,  as  may  be  necessary  to  protect  such  Indian 
in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  lands  so  allotted  to  him. — Rev.  Stats.  U.  S., 
Sec.  2ii<). 

(i)  13  Atty.  Gen.  op.,  27. 

(2)  Full  blood  Cherokees  have  held  the  office  of  Sheriff  in  California, 
where  the  qualifications  of  an  elector  is  the  same  as  that  of  a  Fed- 
eral citizen. 


I'^EDERAL   CITIZENSHIP.  49 

But,  in  thus  becoming  an  independent  freeholder,  and 
in  thus  severing  his  tribal  relations,  he  does  not  acquire 
the  '  'immunities  and  privileges' '  of  Federal  citizenship  (i). 

Alien   Criminals  Ineligible. 

Persons  of  foreign  birth  and  allegiance,  who  cannot 
prove  good  moral  character  during  their  probationary 
residence  in  the  United  States,  or  who,  during  any  period 
of  their  residence  in  the  country  before  the  five  years  re- 
quired b}^  law  to  establish  a  residence  qualification  for 
naturalization  purposes,  have  been  convicted  of  crime,  or 
have  openly  violated  the  penal  laws  of  the  land,  are  in- 
eligible to  citizenship  (2). 

FORFEITURE  OF  FEDERAI.   CITIZENSHIP. 

Federal  citizenship  may  be  forfeited  by  an  unlawful 
act  of  the  holder. 

Desertion  from  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States 
is  a  forfeiture  of  all  the  rights  and  benefits  of  citizenship. 
But  the  disbandment  of  the  Union  forces  by  land  and 
sea,  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  made  it 
necessary  to  cover,  by  special  enactment,  premature  aban- 
donment of  the  naval  or  military  service,  so  as  to  save 
the  constructive  deserter  from  outlawry  and  its  conse- 
quences.    Congress,  therefore,  decreed: 

(1)  An  Indian  ineligible  to  Federal  citizenship  may,  however,  be  admitted 

to  practice  at  the  bar  of  the  Federal  Courts.  Hiiam  Chase,  an  In- 
dian of  full  blood,  belonering  to  the  Omaha  tribe,  was  admitted  to. 
practice  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Nebraska,  at  Omaha 
November  10,  1891,  by  Judge  Elmer  S.  Dundy. 

(2)  5  Sawyer,  195  ;  18  Abb.  Law  J.,  153;  6  F.  R.,  293.  (see,  also,  note,  p.  17.) 


50  FKDKRAI.    CITIZENSHIP. 

All  persons  who  deserted  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States 
and  did  not  return  thereto  to  report  themselves  to  a  provost-marshal  within 
sixty  days  after  the  issuance  of  the  proclamation  by  the  President,  dated  the 
nth  day  of  March,  1865,  are  declared  to  have  voluntarily  relinquished  and  for- 
feited theii  rights  of  citizenship,  as  well  as  their  rights  to  become  citizens ; 
and  such  deserters  shall  be  forever  incapable  of  holding  anv  office  of  trust  or 
profit  under  the  United  States,  or  of  exercising  any  rights  of  citizens  thereof. 
—Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec,  1996. 

Exceptions  were  made  in  favor  of  him  who  aban- 
doned the  military  or  naval  service  on  the  virtual  close  of 
the  war  and  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  his  enlistment, 
without  lawful  authority,  the  presumption  being  in  his 
favor  that  such  abandonment  was  not  intended  to  defraud, 
and  did  not  defraud  the  country  of  any  of  the  service  he 
owed  it  under  the  terms  of  his  enlistment.  Such  a  person, 
although  technically  a  deserter,  not  having  received  his 
regular  discharge,  was  specially  relieved  of  the  disability 
which  his  desertion  imposed  upon  him,  and  Congress  de- 
creed, as  follows: 

No  soldier  or  sailor,  however,  who  faithfully  served  according  to  his  en- 
listment until  the  19th  day  of  April,  1865.  and  who,  without  proper  authority 
or  leave  first  obtained,  quit  his  command  or  refused  to  serve  after  that  date, 
shall  be  held  to  be  a  deserter  from  the  army  or  navy  ;  but  this  section  shall 
be  construed  solely  as  a  removal  of  any  disability  such  soldier  or  sailor  may 
have  incurredlunder  the  preceding  section  [1996J,  by  the  loss  of  citizenship 
and  the  right  to  hold  office,  in  consequence  of  his  desertion.— ^(?z;.  Stats.  U. 
S.,  Section  1997. 

But  for  the  proper  government  of  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  United  States,  wilful  desertion  of  a  member  of 
either  service  is  an  act  which  deprives  him  of  all  ' '  im- 
munities and  privileges  of  Federal  citizenship."  And 
evasion  of  a  draft  for  military  or  naval  service  has  the 
same  effect. 

Every  person  who  hereafter  deserts  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the 
United  States,  or  who,  being  duly  enrolled,  departs  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
district  in  which  he  is  enrolled,  or  goes  beyond  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  with  intent  to  avoid  any  draft  into  the  military  or  naval  service,  law- 
fully ordered,  shall  be  liable  to  all  the  penalties  and  forfeiture  of  section 
i^—Rev.  Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  1998. 


FEDERAL    CITIZENSHIP.  5 1 

Conviction  of  an  infamous  crime  operates  as  a  forfeiture 
of  the  ''immunities  and  privileges"  of  citizenship. 

[What  constitutes  an  infamous  crime  does  not  appear  to  have  been,  at 
any  time,  clearly  defined.  The  general  p  oposition  that  any  offence  which 
would  induce  the  infliction  of  the  death  penalty  on  the  offender,  or  result  in 
his  consignment  to  the  penitentiary,  is  not  satisfactory,  for  it  is  not  general  in 
its  application.  And  the  definition  given  by  Bouvier— "a  crime  which  works 
infamy  on  one  who  has  committed  it" — is  too  indefinite  altogether  and  needs 
further  explanation.  The  same  authority  defines  "infamy"  as  "That  state 
which  is  produced  by  the  conviction  of  a  criminal  and  the  loss  of  honor," 
The  crime  which  renders  the  infamous  person  incompetent  as  a  witness. — 
Treason,  6 Mod.,  i6,  74;  Felony,  2  Buhtr.,  154;  Coke,  Ltit.,6;  i  T.  Raym.,  364; 
Receiving  Stolen  Goods,  t  Mete,  Mass.,  500  (but  obtaining  goods  under  false 
prett-nces  does  not  impair  his  competency  as  a  witness,  11  Mete,  Mass.,  302); 
all  offences  founded  in  fraud  and  which  come  within  the  general  notion  of  the 
crimen  falsi  oi  the  Roman  law,  i  Leach,  4g6;  as  perjury  and  forgerv,  Coke, 
Litt.,6;  Fost.,2og;  piracy,  2  Rolle  A  dr.,  886;  swindling,  cheating,  Fost.,  2og; 
barratry,  2Salk.  6c/o;  conspiracy,  /  Leach  Co.  cor.,  442;  bribing  a  witness  to  keep 
out  of  the  way  to  get  rid  of  his  evidence,  Fast,  208;  falsehood,  /  Greenleaf  Evid., 
Sec.jjj.'"  But  whether  or  not,  in  all  of  these  offen.ses,  a  conviction  would  de- 
prive one  of  his  citizenship,  is  doubtful.  Treason,  murder,  robbery,  theft, 
bribery,  perjury,  piracy,  arson,  rape,  are  recognized  as  infamous  crimes 
(although  theft  is  subject  to  qualification  in  the  matter  of  degree  ,  for  which 
the  person  convicted  would  be  forfeiting  his  "immunities  and  privileges"  as  a 
•citizen.  The  Constitution  of  Connecticut  classifies  the  following  offenses  as 
infamous  crimes:  Bribery,  forgery,  perjury,  duelling,  fraudulent  bankruptcy, 
theft,  or  other  offenses  for  which  an  infamous  punishment  is  inflicted,"  and 
any  person  convicted  of  one  of  them  lost  his  privileges  as  an  elector. — See 
Const,  Conn. ,  Art.  VI,  Sec.  j.  ] 

In  some  States  the  criminal  offenses  which  deprive  the 
person  committing  either  ol  them  of  his  citizenship,  are 
specifically  stated.  Any  person  convicted  of  an  infamous 
crime  is  no  longer  worthy  of  citizenship,  for  he  has  under- 
mined the  very  foundation  of  the  social  fabric  which  it  is 
the  sacred  object  of  citizenship  to  protect  and  strengthen. 
He  is,  therefore,  outlawed  by  society.  Pardon,  however, 
saves  the  offender.  A  convicted  felon,  who  may  have 
served  part  of  the  term  of  servitude  to  w^hich  he  was  sen- 
tenced, but  to  whom  executive  clemency  is  extended  and 
pardon  granted,  is  restored,  civilly  and  politically,  to  his 
former  status  as  a  citizen,  no  matter  what  may  be  the 
social  ostracism   he  suffers  in  consequence  of  his  crime. 


im-*^:^ 


52  FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP. 

The  effect  of  the  pardon  is,  however,  only  prospective, 
not  retrospective.  It  neither  changes  the  past  nor  anni- 
hilates the  fact  of  the  offense  (i).  The  fact  remains 
that  the  person  pardoned  was  guilty  of  the  crime,  not- 
withstanding the  pardon  (2) .  Pardon  restores  the  offender 
to  citizenship  simply  '  'because  it  releases  the  punishment 
and  blots  out  of  existence  the  guilt,  so  that,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  law,  the  offender  is  as  innocent  as  if  he  had  never 
committed  the  offence  (3)." 

But  a  convict  who  is  restored  to  his  liberty  by  reason 
of  the  natural  expiration  of  his  sentence,  is  forever 
stripped  of  all  the  immunities  and  privileges  of  citizen- 
ship (4),  for  one  who  has  so  outraged  the  laws  of  his  coun- 
try is  no  longer  to  be  trusted  with  the  precious  boon  con- 
ferred by  those  laws  upon  him  who  respects  and  obeys 
them,  and  nothing  can  remove  his  disability  except  it  be 
an  act  of  the  State  Legislature,  if  his  conviction  was  had 
in  a  State  Court,  or  an  act  of  Congress,  if  convicted  in  a 
Federal  Court.  Connecticut  adopted  a  constitutional 
amendment  in  1875,  providing  that  the  General  Assem- 
bly shall  have  power,  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  mem- 
bers of  both  branches,  to  restore  the  privileges  of  an 
elector  to  those  who  may  have  forfeited  the  same  by  a 
conviction  for  crime  (5). 

(i)  4  Black.,  402. 

(2)  5  Sawyer,  195. 

(3)  4  Wallace;  380. 

(4)  Colorado,  however,  furnishes  an  exception  to  this  rule.    Sec.  10,  of  Art. 

"Vll  of  the  Constitution  of  1876  restores  to  citizenship  the  felon  wha 
has  served   his   full  term  of  penal   servitude. 

(5)  Charters  and  Constitutions  U.  S.,  Const.  Conn.,   Art.  XVII,  Part  /,  269. 


FEDERAL  CITIZENSHIP.  53 

FORFEITURE  BY  EXPATRIATION. 

Expatriation  is  a  fundamental  right,  and  citizenship 
may  be  forfeited  by  it. 

whereas,  the  right  of  <rxpatria*ion  is  a  natural  and  inh  rent  right  of  all 
people,  indispensable  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  life,  liberty  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness  ;  and,  whereas,  in  the  recognition  of  this  principle  this 
^  overnment  has  freely  received  emigrants  from  all  nations,  and  invested 
them  with  the  rights  of  citizenship  ;  and,  whereas,  it  is  claimed  that  such 
American  citizens,  with  their  descendant-,  are  subjec  s  of  foreign  States, 
owing  alleginnce  to  the  government,  thereof:  and,  whereas,  it  is  necessary' 
to  the  maintenance  of  public  peace  that  this  claim  of  foreign  allegiance 
should  be  promptly  and  finally  disavowed  :  Therefore,  any  declaration, 
instruction,  opinion,  order,  or  decision  c  f  the  United  States  which  denies, 
restricts,  impa-rs,  or  questions  the  righ:  c."  expatriation,  is  declared  inconsis- 
tent with  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Republic. — Reiv.  Stats.  U.S., 
Sec.  1999. 

Congress  thus  declared  itself  for  the  protection  of  its  nat- 
uralized citizens  against  the  claims  of  their  mother  coun- 
try which  denied  the  right  of  its  subjects  to  renounce 
their  allegiance.  But  the  rule  which  was  thus  laid  down 
by  Congress  to  defend  naturalized  American  citizens 
against  the  claim  of  foreign  governments  upon  their 
allegiance,  operates  also  as  a  defense  of  the  right  of  any 
American  citizen  to  change  his  allegiance  at  his  pleasure, 
by  expatriation.  A  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United 
States  may  thus  resume  his  original  citizenship  under 
the  conditions  required  of  the  country  of  his  nativity  (i). 
If  an  American  citizen  emigrates  to  a  foreign  country 
and  renounces  his  American  allegiance,  with  the  view  of 
becoming  a  subject  of  the  country  in  which  such  renun- 
ciation is  made,  it  constitutes  an  act  of  expatriation  (2). 
But  residence  in  a  foreign  country  and  an  intent  not  to 
return  to  the  United  States,  while  essential  elements  of 

(i)  31  F.  R.,  106. 

(.a")  14  Atty.  Gen.  op,,  295. 


54  FEDERAI.   CITIZENSHIP. 

expatriation,  are  not  sufficient  to  constitute  it  (i).  These 
acts  must  be  followed  by  naturalization  before  expatria- 
tion is  complete.  If,  however,  in  addition  to  residence 
and  an  intent  to  remain,  acts  should  be  committed,  or  ex- 
pressions made  which  would,  in  effect,  amount  to  a  re- 
nunciation of  United  States  citizenship  and  a  willingness 
to  submit  or  adopt  the  obligations  of  the  country  in 
which  the  person  concerned  resides,  such  as  the  accept- 
ance of  public  employment,  or  engaging  in  the  military 
service  of  the  country,  these  acts  may  be  treated  by  the 
Federal  Government  as  expatriation,  without  actual  nat- 
uralization (2).  It  has  been  held,  however,  that  a  woman 
bom  in  the  United  States,  of  Federal  citizens,  who  mar- 
ried a  foreigner  residing  in  the  United  States,  and  who 
never  became  a  citizen  thereof,  and  who  subsequently 
moved  with  her  child  (also  born  in  the  United  States)  to 
the  country  of  her  husband's  allegiance,  where  she  re- 
mained until  her  husband's  death,  is  still  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  so  also  is  her  child  (3). 


II.    STATE  CITIZENSHIP. 

Federal  citizenship  is  one  thing;  State  citizenship  is 
another.  A  person  may  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
and  not  a  citizen  of  any  particular  State  (4).  This  prop- 
osition is  susceptible  of   reversal.     A  person  may  be  a 

(1)9  Atty.  Gen.  op.,  3S9. 
(2J  14  Atty.  Gen.  op.,  295. 

(3)  10  Atty.  Gen.  op.,  321. 

(4)  2  Blatchford,  162. 


STATK  CITIZENSHIP.  55 

citizen  of  a  particular  State  and  not  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  There  is  in  our  political  system  a  gov- 
ernment of  each  of  the  several  States  and  a  government  of 
the  United  States.  Each  is  distinct  from  the  other  and 
has  citizens  of  its  own,  who  owe  it  allegiance  and  whose 
rights,  within  its  jurisdiction,  it  must  protect.  The  same 
person  may  be  at  the  same  time  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  and  a  citizen  of  a  State,  but  his  rights  of  citizen- 
ship under  one  of  these  governments  will  be  different 
from  those  under  the  other  (i).  The  government  of  the 
United  States,  although  it  is  within  the  scope  of  its 
powers  supreme  and  beyond  the  States,  can  neither  pre- 
vent nor  secure  to  its  citizens  rights  or  privileges  which 
are  not  expressly  or  by  implication  placed  under  its 
jurisdiction.  All  rights  or  privileges  that  cannot  be  so 
granted  or  secured  are  left  to  the  exclusive  protection  of 
the  States  (2).  It  is  State  citizenship  and  not  Federal 
citizenship  that  gives  the  holder  a  right  to  vote.  The 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  does  not  guarantee  a 
citizen  the  right  to  vote.  That  right  depends  entirely 
upon  the  laws  of  the  State  in  which  the  citizen  re- 
sides (3),  and  it  may  be  given  under  these  law^s  (as  it 
is  in  many  States)  to  persons  who  are  not  citizens  (4) 
and  to  persons  ineligible  to  citizenship  (5  .     While  the 

(i)  3  Hughes,  13.  * 

(2192  U.  S.,  542. 

(3)  I  Hughes,  h8_;  3  Hughes,  456. 

(4)  Each    State,  in  the  exercise  of  its  loyal  and    reserved  sovereignty, 

may  place  foreigners  or  other  persons  on  a  footing  with  its  own  citi- 
zens as  to  politic  il  rights  and  privileges  to  be  enjoyed  within  its  do- 
minion.— igHoiv.,  ?9j.  See,  also,  the  chapter  on  "Voting  Qualifica- 
tions in  the  S  veral  States." 

(5)  Such  as  Indians  who  have  severed  their  tribal  relations,  but  who 

have  not  been  admitted  to  citizenship  by  act  of  Congress. 


56  STATE    CITIZENSHIP. 

Federal  Constitution  assumes  to  give  the  citizen  of  one 
State  the  right  to  enjoy  "  all  privileges  and  immunities 
of  citizens  of  the  several  States,"  there  are  special 
rights  and  privileges  which  this  constitutional  pro- 
vision cannot  effect — rights  and  privileges  whose  en- 
joyment depends  upon  actual  residence  within  the 
State,  such  as  the  ' '  right  to  vote,  to  have  th^ 
benefit  of  the  exemption  laws,  to  take  fish  in  the 
waters  of  the  State,  and  the  like  (i)."  "  And  the 
right  to  hold  office  (2)."  It  is  in  this  way  that  the 
State  of  Virginia,  for  illustration,  exercises  jurisdiction 
over  its  oyster  fisheries,  for  the  benefit  of  its  own  citi- 
zens, and  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the  citizens  of 
other  States  C3).  The  privileges  and  immunities  secured 
under  the  Federal  Constitution  relates  to  the  right  to  go 
into  any  State  and  carry  on  business  there,  to  hold  prop- 
erty and  to  be  protected  like  the  citizens  of  the  State  in 
their  rights  ;  the  right  to  enforce  personal  privileges, 
and  to  be  exempt,  in  property  and  person,  from  taxes  or 
burdens  which  the  property  or  persons  of  the  same  State 
are  not  subject  to  (4),  and  to  hold,  enjoy  and  devise  or 
inherit  real  estate  in  any  other  State  (5). 

(i)  Cooley^s  Constitutional  Limitations,  4th  Ed.,  p.  498. 

(2)  2  Paine,  soi. 

(3)  94  U.  S. ,  391. 

(4)  A  law  imposing-  a  license   fee  upon  drummers  for  selling  iaiported 

goods,  which  is  not  required  of  agents  selling  goods  manufactured 
in  the  State,  is  invalid.  Chicago  Legal  News  (U.  S.  S.  Ct),  217, 
March  19,  1887  ;  91  U.  S.,  275  ;  92  U.  S.,  259  ;  95  U.  S.,  465  ;  102  U.  S., 
196  ;  103  U.  S.,  344  ;  118  U.  S.,  557  ;  9  Wheat.,  i  ;  7  How.,  283  ;  12  How., 
299;  6  Wall.,  35;  12  Wall., 418;  15  Wall.,  232. 

(5)  4  Wash.,  380. 

Residence  is  an  essential  element  in  the  acquirement  of 


STATE    CITIZENSHIP.  57 

State  citizenship.  But  residence  does  not  always  give 
it ;  for  a  soldier  may  be  quartered  within  a  State,  and  a 
resident  thereof,  in  so  far  as  being  within  its  territorial 
boundaries  is  concerned,  and  yet  not  be  a  citizen  of  the 
State,  because  military  posts  and  reservations,  forts  and 
arsenals  are  under  Federal  and  not  under  State  jurisdic- 
tion. State  citizenship,  therefore,  implies  not  onl}^  res- 
idence within  the  territorial  limits  or  dominion  of  the 
State,  but  being  under  its  jurisdiction  also. 

Nor  is  a  person  necessarily  a  citizen  of  a  State  because 
he  is  a  resident  within  its  dominion,  and,  so  far  as  the 
place  of  his  residence  is  concerned,  under  its  jurisdiction. 
The  establishment  of  one's  domicile  in  a  State  may  be 
prima  facie  evidence  that  he  is  a  citizen  of  the  State,  but 
it  is  not  conclusive  (i).  State  citizenship  results  from 
both  an  act  and  an  intent  (2).  No  one  can  become  a  citi- 
zen of  any  State  of  the  Union  by  merely  intending  to 
become  one.  Nor  can  one  become  a  citizen  of  a  State  by 
residence  in  it  without  or  contrary  to  his  intent  to  become 
a  citizen  (3).  But  when  the  act  and  the  intent  are  in 
harmony,  and  both  are  consummated  for  the  end  of 
acquiring  State  citizenship.  State  citizenship  is  acquiied. 
Under  such  a  condition,  it  is  reasonable  to  presume  that 
*  'citizenship  in  a  State  is  made  by  residence  and  without 
reference  to  the  consent  of  the  State  (4)." 

The  Federal  Constitution,  in  defining  what  constitutes 

(i'>  10  Sawyer,  666. 

(2)  II  Sawyer,  291. 

(3)  II  Sawyer,  291 ;  26  F.  R.,  337. 
<4)  16  WaUace,  36. 


58  STATE    CITIZENSHIP. 

Federal  citizenship,  also  defines  the  manner  in  which  a 
Federal  citizen  acquires  State  citizenship.  Any  person 
born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States  and  vSubject  to- 
its  jurisdiction,  is  a  citizen  thereof  a7id  of  the  State  in 
which  he  resides  (i).  But  the  majority  of  the  State  Con- 
stitutions are,  singularly  enough,  lacking  a  specific  defini- 
tion of  what  constitutes  State  citizenship.  This  hiatus  is 
similar  to  that  which  originally  existed  in  the  Federal 
Constitution.  That  instrument,  prior  to  the  adoption  of 
the  Fourteenth  Amendment,  lacked  a  specific  definition 
of  what  constitutes  citizenship  of  the  United  States.  As  a 
rule,  the  Constitutions  of  the  several  States  leave  the  status 
of  State  citizeUvShip  to  be  determined  by  the  qualifications 
of  an  elector.  But  this  is  reliable  only  when  State  citi- 
zenship is  considered  politically  (2).  It  may  be  entirely 
at  fault  when  considered  from  the  standpoint  of  civil 
rights,  for  a  person  may  be  incapable  of  exercising  the 
right  of  suffrage  or  of  enjoying  any  other  political  privi- 
lege in  the  gift  of  a  State,  and  yet  be,  civilly,  a  State 
citizen  in  the  full  meaning  of  the  term. 

In  the  "  Declaration  of  Rights"  of  the  Constitution  of 
Alabama,  it  is  declared  ' '  that  all  persons  resident  in  this 
State,  born  in  the  United  States,  or  naturalized,  or  who 
shall  have  legally  declared  their  intentions  to  become  cit- 
zens  of  the  United  States,  are  hereby  declared  citizens  of 

(1)  XIV  Araendt.  U.  S.  Const.,  Sec.  i ;  5  McCrary,  73;   15  F.  R.,  689. 

(2)  It  was  not  always  reliable.     The  Constitution  of  Georgia,  1868,  for  in- 

stance, gave  the  right  of  suffrage  to  aliens  who  were  not  citizens  of 
the  State.     See  Charters  and  Constitutions  U.  S.,  Part  I,  411.  413. 


STATE    CITIZENSHIP.  59 

the  State  of  Alabama,  possessing  equal  civil  and  politi- 
cal rights  (i)." 

The  Constitution  of  Georgia,  of  1868,  in  its  "Decla- 
ration of  Fundamental  Principles,"  said:  "All  persons 
born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  resident  in 
this  State,  are  hereby  declared  citizens  of  this  State." 
The  same  Constitution  extended  the  elective  franchise 
to  male  foreign  subjects  who  had  legall}^  declared  an  in- 
tention to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States,  thereby 
creating  the  curious  political  nondescript  of  a  qualified 
voter  who  was  neither  a  Federal  citizen  nor  a  State  citi- 
zen (2).  On  the  5th  of  December,  1877,  the  people  of 
Georgia  adopted  a  new  Constitution  which  reafiirmed  the 
Constitutional  definition  of  State  citizenship  of  1868,  al- 
though expressing  it  a  little  differently,  as  follows:  "All 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  residect  in  this  State,  are 
hereby  declared  citizens  of  this  State  (3)."  This  new 
Constitution  also  banished  the  political  nondescript  of 
1868,  by  restricting  the  elective  franchise  to  "male  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  (4), ' '  thus  producing,  in  Georgia, 
perfect  harmony  between  State  and  Federal  citizenship. 

The  Louisiana  Constitution  of  1868  made  "all  persons, 
without  regard  to  race,  color,  or  previous  condition,  born 
or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,   and  subject  to  the 

(i)  Const,  of  Ala.,  1875;  Art.  I,  Sec.  2;  Charters  and  Consti  utious  U.  S., 
Part  I,  76. 

(2)  Const    of  Ga  ,    1868,  Art.   I,   Sec.   2;   Id.,  Art.  II,  Sec,  2:  Charters  and 

Constitutions  U.  S.,  Part  1;  411,  413. 

(3)  Const.  Ga.,  1877,  Art.  I.  Sec.  i.  Par.    XXV  ;    Code  of  Ga.,  1882,  Sec.  5017, 

p.  1291. 

(4)  Con.st.  of  Ga.,  1877,  Art.  II,  Sec.  i,  Par.  II ;  Code  of  Ga.,   1882,.  Sec.  5032, 

p.  1294. 


6o  STATE    CITIZENSHIP. 

< 

jurisdiction  thereof,  and  residents  of  this  State  one  3'ear," 
citizens  of  the  State  (i).  OnW  resident  Federal  citi- 
zens were,  therefore,  eligible  to  State  citizenship  under 
this  provision.  The  right. of  suffrage  was  also  restricted 
to  such  Federal  citizens  (2).  In  1879,  a  new  Constitu- 
tion was,  however,  adopted,  which  contains  no  definition 
of  State  citizenship,  and  which  extends  the  right  of  suf- 
frage to  any  alien  who  may  have  legally  declared  his  in- 
tions  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  "before  he 
offers  to  vote, ' '  provided  he  has  acquired  the  prescribed 
residence  qualification  (3),  and  such  alien  elector  is  privi- 
leged to  sit  as  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  State 
legislature  (4). 

The  constitutional  bill  of  rights  of  Mississippi  de- 
clares that  * '  all  persons  resident  in  this  State,  citizens  of 
the  United  States,"  are  ''citizens  of  the  State  of  Missis- 
sippi (5),"  and  the  constitutional  right  of  suffrage  is 
limited  to  Federal  citizens  also  (6). 

The  Constitutions  of  all  other  States  in  the  Union  are 
silent  on  the  subject  of  what  constitutes  State  citizen- 
ship within  their  respective  jurisdictions. 

(i)  Const.  La.,  1868.  TiUe  I,  Art.  2  ;  Charters  and  Consts.  U.  S  ,  Parti,  755. 
(2;  Const,  of  La.,  1868,  Title  VI,  Art.  98  ;  Charters  and  Consts.  U.  S.,  Part  I, 

765. 
)3)  Const,  of  La.,  1879,  Art.  185. 

(4)  Const.,  L^.,  187;^,  Art.  22. 

(5)  Const,  of  Miss.,  1868,  Art.  i,  Sec.  i  ;  Charters  and  Consts.  U.  S.,  Part  II, 

1081. 

(6)  Const,  of  Miss..  1868,  Art.  VII,  Sec.  2  ;   Charters  and   Consts.  U.  S.,  Part 

II,  1089. 


THE  RIGHT  OF  SUFFRAGE. 


The  right  of  suffrage  or  elective  franchise  is  the  great- 
est privilege  which  a  citizen  can  enjoy  by  right  of  birth 
or  inheritance,  or  which  an  alien  can  acquire  by  in- 
vestiture. It  is  a  privilege  which  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution does  not,  however,  confer  on  any  one  (i).  A 
person  may  be  a  Federal  citizen  by  the  right  of  birth,  or 
by  inheritance,  or  by  naturalization,  and  j-et  not  enjo^^ 
the  right  of  suffrage.  The  right  of  voting  does  not  neces- 
sarily constitute  a  part  of  citizenship  in  any  form;  for,  if 
it  did,  then  the  citizens  of  each  State  would  be  entitled 
to  vote  in  the  several  States  precisely  as  their  citizens  are 
entitled  to  vote  (2),  notwithstanding  that  the  qualifica- 
tions of  a  voter  in  one  State  might  differ  from  those  of  a 
voter  in  another  State.  The  right,  or  rather  the  privilege, 
of  voting  arises  under  the  Constitution  of  the  State  in  which 
it  may  be  exercised,  and  not  under  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  (3).     It  is  the  State's  prerogative  to  define 

■  (I)  21  WaU.,  162. 

v2)  Id. 

(3)  The  regulation  of  the  suffrage  is  conceded  to  the  States  as  a  State  rights 
//  Blatchford,  200. 

"Naturalization  does  nut  confer  on  the  individual  naturalized  the  right 
to  vote.  The  qualifications  which  an  elector  is  required  to  have,  in  Congress- 
ional elections,  depend  entirely  upon  the  laws  of  the  ytate  in  which  the 
elective  franchise  is  exercised,  and  are  purely  dependent  upon  the  municipal 
regulations  of  the  State.  It  is  not  necessary  to  determine  whether  the  voter 
is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States."— 2  Scam.  (7  /./.),  377. 


62  THE    RIGHT   OF   SUFFRAGE. 

the  qualifications  of  a  voter  (i);  and  each  State  fixes  the 
qualifications  of  its  own  voters,  according  to  its  own 
whims,  conveniences  or  necessities,  but  it  cannot  meddle 
with  the  qualifications  of  voters  as  defined  by  any  sister 
State.  With  this  power.  Congress  has  never  interfered ; 
and  although  Congress  may,  at  any  time,  make  or  alter 
such  regulations  (2),  it  has,  so  far,  confined  itself  to  defin- 
ing the  qualifications  of  voters  within  the  Territories  and 
to  modifying  the  right  of  suffrage  of  membeis  of  the 
army  or  navy,  wherever  they  may  be  stationed  or  may 
have  acquired  residence. 

THE    POWER    OF    STATES. 

The  power  which  a  State  may  exercise  in  determining 
the  qualifications  of  its   voters  is  almost  without  limit. 

(i)  "It  is  a  common  error  to  connect  the  elective  franchise  inseparably 
with  citizenship,  as  if  elector  and  citizen  were  convertible  terms.  In  regard 
to  the  persons  who  shall  exercise  this  franchise  in  each  State  it  is  determined 
entirely  by  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State,  They  may  confer  the 
privilege  on  aliens,  negroes,  Indians,  women  and  children.  Even  in  regard  to 
the  choice  of  Representatives  in  Congress  and  Electors  of  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Federal  Constitution  leaves  the  matter  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  State."—/  Sharzvood's  Bl.  Com..  376,  note. 

"The  United  States  rights  appertaining  to  this  subject  are  those  [ist]  under 
Article  I,  Section  2,  subdivision  i,  of  the  United  States  Constitution,  which 
provides  that  electors  of  Representatives  in  Congress  shall  have  the  qual- 
ifications requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State 
Legislature;  and  [2d]  under  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  which  provides  that 
the  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abiidged 
by  the  United  States  or  any  State,  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condi- 
tion of  servitude.  If  the  Legislature  of  a  State  should  require  a  higher  quali- 
fication in  a  voter  for  a  Representative  in  Congress  than  is  required  for  a  voter 
for  member  of  the  House  of  Assembly  of  the  State,  this  would,  I  conceive,  be 
a  violation  of  a  right  belonging  to  a  person  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
That  right  is  in  relation  to  a  Federal  subject  or  interest,  and  is  guaranteed  by 
the  Constitution."—//  Blatchford,  200. 

Congress  has  no  power  to  legislate  on  the  subject  of  voting  at  State  elec- 
tions, except  under  the  Fifteenth  Amendment,  and  such  power  can  be  exer- 
cised by  providing  a  punishment  only  where  the  wrongful  refusal  to  receive 
the  vote  of  a  qualifi-  d  elector  at  such  elections  is  because  of  his  race,  color  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude.— G"(??//rf  cS"  Tucket's  Notes  on  Rev.  Stats .  U.  S., 
Sec  480. 

(2)  21  Wall,  162. 


THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE.  63 

It  may  go  to  some  extraordinary  extrerces.  It  may 
•declare,  without  any  violence  of  any  right  derived 
tinder  the  Federal  Constitution,  that  no  person  shall 
be  entitled  to  vote  until  he  shall  have  reached  a  given 
age,  and  it  may  deprive  him  of  the  right  to  vote  after  he 
has  reached  another  given  age ;  or  it  may  declare  that 
any  person  having  gray  hair  or  who  does  not  have  the 
use  of  all  his  limbs  shall  not  enjoy  the  right  to  vote  (i). 
It  can  establish  an  educatiorfal  or  property  qualification, 
and  it  can  restrict  the  right  to  either  sex  or  give  it  to 
both  sexes.  It  may  give  foreigners  the  right  to  vote, 
and  it  may  extend  the  privileges  to  persons  who  are, 
tinder  any  of  the  ordinary  rules,  ineligible  to  Federal 
•citizenship,  and  the  power  has  been  so  exercised  in  sev- 
eral of  the  States.  But  a  State  cannot  exclude  any  one 
from  the  enjoyment  of  the  elective  franchise  on  account 
of  '*  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,"  pro-  / 
vided  such  person  is  a  Federal  citizen. 

AI.IENS   AS    VOTERS. 

It  is  a  popular  error  to  suppose  that  the  right  of  suf- 
frage is  limited  to  citizens  throughout  the  United  States. 
In  some  States,  it  is  ;  in  others,  it  is  not  and  never  has 
been,  i^  When  the  Federal  Constitution  was  adopted, 
every  one  of  the  thirteen  original  States  (Rhode  Island 
and  Connecticut  excepted)  had  its  Constitution.  The  two 
States  excepted  acted  under  Charters  granted  by  the  Brit- 
ish   Crown.      Each    State    then    determined   for   itself 

(i)  II  Blatchford,  200. 


64  THE   RIGHT    OF   SUl  FRAGK. 

/  who,  within  its  confines,  should  have  the  right  to  votej^ 
It  was  limited  in  New  Hampshire  to  "every  male  inhab- 
itant of  each  town  and  parish  with  town  privileges  and 
places  unincorporated  in  the  State,  of  twenty-one  years 
of  age  and  upwards,  excepting  paupers  and  persons  ex- 
cused from  paying  taxes  at  their  own  request ;  "  in  Mass- 
achusetts, to  "every  male  inhabitant  of  twenty-one 
years  of  age  and  upwards  having  a  freehold  estate  with- 
in the  commonwealth  of  the  annual  income  of  three 
pounds,  or  any  estate  of  the  value  of  sixty  pounds  ;'* 
in  Rhode  Island,  to  such  "as  are  or  hereafter  shall 
be  admitted  and  made  free  of  the  company  and 
society"  of  the  colony  ;  in  Connecticut,  to  such  per- 
sons as  had  "maturity  in  years,  quiet  and  peaceable 
behavior,  a  civil  conversation  and  forty  shillings  freehold 
or  forty  pounds  personal  estate,"  if  so  certified  by  the 
selectmen;  in  New  York,  to  "any  male  inhabitant  of 
full  age  who  shall  have  personall}^  resided  within  one  of 
tl;^  counties  of  the  State  for  six  months  immediately 
preceding  the  day  of  election  *  ^-^  if  during  the  time 
aforesaid  he  shall  have  been  a  freeholder,  possessing  a 
freehold  of  the  value  of  twenty  pounds  within  the 
county,  or  have  rented  a  tenement  therein  of  the  yearly 
value  of  forty  shillings  and  been  rated  and  actually 
paid  taxes  to  the  State  ;"  in  New  Jersey,  to  "  all  inhabi- 
tants *  "^  ^  of  full  age  who  are  worth  fifty  pounds 
proclamation-money,  clear  estate  in  the  same,  and  have 
resided  in  the  county  in  which  they  claim  a  vote  for 
"twelve  months  immediately  preceding  the  election  ;"  in 


THK  RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE.  '65 

Pennsylvania  to  '  *  every  freeman  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  having  resided  in  the  State  two  years  next  before 
the  election  and  within  that  time  paid  a  State  or  county 
tax  which  shall  have  been  assessed  at  least  six  months 
before  the  election  ;"  in  Delaware  and  Virginia,  **  as  ex- 
ercised by  law  at  present ,"  in  Maryland,  to  "/all  freemen 
above  twenty-one  years  of  age,  being  a  freeholder  of 
fifty  acres  of  land  in  the  county  in  which  they  offer  to 
vote  and  residing  therein,  and  all  freemen  having  property 
in  the  State  above  the  value  of  thirty  pounds  current 
money,  and  having  resided  in  the  county  in  which  they 
offer  to  vote,  one  whole  year  next  p:  eceding  the  elec- 
tion;"  in  North  Carolina,  for  senators,  to  "all  freemen 
of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  who  have  been  inhabi- 
tants of  any  one  county  within  the  State  twelve  months 
immediately  preceding  the  day  of  election,  and  possessed 
of  a  freehold  within  the  same  county  of  fifty  acres  of 
land  for  six  months  next  before  and  at  the  day  of  elec- 
tion," and  for  members  of  the  house  of  commons,  to 
"  all  freemen  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  who  have 
been  inhabitants  in  any  one  county  within  the  State 
twelve  months  immediately  preceding  the  day  of  any 
election,  and  shall  have  paid  public  taxes  ;"  in  South 
Carolina,  to  '  *  every  free  white  man  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  being  a  citizen  of  the  State  and  having  resided 
therein  two  years  previous  to  the  day  of  election  and  who 
hath  a  freehold  of  fifty  acres  of  land,  or  a  town  lot  of 
which  he  hath  been  legally  seized  and  possessed  at  least 
six  months  before  such  election,  or  (not  having  such  free- 


66  THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE. 

hqld  or  town  lot),  hath  been  a  resident  within  the  elec- 
tion district  in  which  he  offers  to  give  his  vote  six  months 
before  said  election,  and  hath  paid  a  tax  the  preceding 
year  of  three  shillings  sterling  toward  the  support  of  the 
government ;"  in  Georgia,  to  every  male  white  inhabitant 
of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  possessed  in  his  own  right 
of  ten  pounds  value,  liable  to  a  State  tax,  or  a  mechanic, 
and  six  months  resident  in  the  State. 
"^  After  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  the 
same  independence  of  action  was  exercised  by  each  new 
State  as  it  framed  the  Constitution  on  which  it  obtained 
admission  to  the  Federation.  In  each  of  the  three  Con- 
stitutions adopted  by  Vermont,  in  1777,  1786  and  1793, 
respectively,  the  '*  privileges  of  a  freeman  of  the  State." 
in  other  words,  a'' a  voter,"  were  conferred  upon  ''every 
man  of  the  full  age  of  twenty-one  years,"  who  had  re- 
sided in  the  State  one  year  ' '  before  the  election  of  repre- 
sentatives,"  and  was  of  "  a  quiet  and  peaceable  behavior. ' ' 
Kentucky  gave  it  to  "  all  free  male  citizens  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  having  resided  in  the  State  two  years,  or  in 
the  county  in  which  they  offer  to  vote  one  year  next  be- 
fore election."  North  Carolina  gave  it  to  "every  freeman 
of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  possessing 
a  freehold  in  the  county  wherein  he  may  vote,  and  being 
an  inhabitant  of  this  State,  and  every  freeman  being  an 
inhabitant  of  any  one  county  in  the  State  six  months 
immediately  preceding  the  day  of  election. ' '  Ohio  gave 
it  to  "  all  white  male  inhabitants  above  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one years,  having  resided  in  the  State  one  year  next 


THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE.  67 

preceding  the  election,  and  who  have  paid,  or  are  charged 
with  a  State  or  county  tax."  In  Louisiana,  it  was 
granted  to  ''every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  United 
States  who,  at  the  time  being,  hath  attained  to  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  and  resided  in  the  county  in  which 
he  offers  to  vote  for  one  year  next  preceding  the  election, 
and  who  in  the  last  six  months  prior  to  the  said  election 
shall  have  paid  a  State  tax,  *  ^  *  provided,  however, 
that  every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States 
who  shall  have  purchased  lands  from  the  United  States 
shall  have  the  right  of  voting  wherever  he  shall  have 
the  other  qualifications  of  age  and  residence  above  pre- 
scribed." Indiana  granted  it  to  "every  white  male  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  and  up- 
wards who  has  resided  in  the  State  one  year  immediately 
preceding  such  election,"  and  it  subsequently  gave  it  to 
*' every  white  male  of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards 
who  shall  have  resided  in  the  United  States  one  year, 
and  shall  have  resided  in  this  State  during  the  six 
months  preceding  such  election  and  shall  have  declared 
his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  on  the  sub- 
ject of  naturalization."  Mississippi  restricted  it  to 
"every  free  white  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  or  upwards  who  shall  be  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  and  shall  have  resided  in  this 
State  one  year  next  preceding  an  election,  and  the 
last  six  months  within  the  county,  city  or  town  in  which 
he   offers   to   vote,  and   shall  be  enrolled  in  the  militia 


68  THE   RIGHT   OF   SUFFRAGE. 

thereof,  except  exempted  by  law  from  military  service ; 
or,  having  the  aforesaid  qualifications  of  citizen  and 
residence,  shall  have  paid  a  State  or  county  tax."  Illinois 
gave  it  to  ''all  white  male  inhabitants  above  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  having  resided  in  the  State  six  months 
next  preceding  the  election  ; "  Alabama  to  '  'every  white 
male  citizen"  of  the  United  States,  of  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  who  had  resided  one  year  in  the  State  next  preceding 
an  election,  "and  the  last  three  months  within  the 
county,  city  or  town  in  which  he  offers  to  vote ; ' '  Maine,  to 
"every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  excepting  paupers,  per- 
sons under  guardianship  and  Indians  not  taxed,"  having 
a  three  months'  residence  in  the  State  ;  Missouri,  to 
'  'every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who 
shall  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,"  and 
resided  a  year  in  the  State  and  three  months  in  the  county 
or  district  in  which  he  '  offers  to  vote  ;  Arkansas,  to 
"every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States," 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  resident  in  the  State  six 
months  ;  Michigan,  to  "every  white  male  citizen  above 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having  resided  in  the  State 
six  months  next  preceding  any  election,  *  *  *  and 
every  white  male  inhabitant  of  the  age  aforesaid"  residing 
in  the  State  at  the  time  of  the  signing  of  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  Florida,  to  "every  free  white  male  person  of  the 
age  of  twenty  one  years  and  upwards,  and  who  shall  be, 
at  the  time  of  offering  to  vote,  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,"  two  years  a  resident  in  the  State  and  six  months 


THE   RIGHT   OF   SUFFRAGE.  69 

*  'in  the  county  in  which  he  may  offer  to  vote,  and  who 
shall  be  enrolled  in  the  militia  thereof,"  unless  exempted 

*  *  *  except  in  elections  by  general  ticket  in  the 
State  or  district  prescribed  by  law  :  in  which  case  the 
elector  must  have  been  a  resident  of  the  State  two  years 
next  preceding  the  election  and  six  moi.ths  within  the 
election  district  in  which  he  offers  to  vote  ;  "  Texas,  to 
"every  free  male  person  who  shall  have  attained  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  and  who  shall  be  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  or  who  is  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
this  Constitution  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  a 
citizen  of  the  republic  of  Texas  and  shall  have  resided  in 
this  State  one  year  next  preceding  an  election,  and  the 
last  six  months  within  the  district,  county,  city  or  town 
in  which  he  offers  to  vote  (Indians  not  taxed,  Africans 
and  descendants  of  Africans  excepted),"  and  "all  free 
male  citizens  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  (Indians 
not  taxed,  Africans  and  descendants  of  Africans  except- 
ed)," who  resided  in  Texas  six  months  before  Congress 
accepted  the  Constitution  ;  Iowa,  to  '  'every  white  male 
citizen  of  the  United  States"  of  twenty-one,  who  had  a 
six  months'  residence  in  the  State  and  sixty  days'  resi- 
dence in  the  county  in  which  he  offered  to  vote  ;  Wis- 
consin, to  every  male  white  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
white  person  of  foreign  birth  who  shall  have  declared 
his  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  person  of  Indian 
blood  made  a  Federal  citizen  by  act  of  Congress,  and  every 
civilized  person  of  Indian  descent  who  maintains  no  tribal 
relations  ;    California,  to  '  'every  white  male  citizen  of  the 


70  THE  RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE. 

United  States  and  every  white  male  citizen  of  Mexico'" 
who  had  elected  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
under  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  Queretaro,  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  six  months  a  resident  of  the  State  and 
thirty  days  a  resident  of  the  county  or  district  in  which 
he  claimed  his  vote,  reserving  the  right  to  the  Legislature 
to  admit  to  the  right  of  suffrage,  by  a  two-thirds  vote,. 
"Indians  or  descendants  of  Indians;"  Minnesota,  to  every 
male  person  of  twenty-one,  who  had  resided  in  the 
United  States  one  year,  in  the  State  four  months  next  pre- 
ceding any  election,  and  in  the  election  district  ten  days> 
and^  who  was  either  a  white  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
or  a  white  person  of  foreign  birth,  who  had  regularly 
declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  or  a  person  of 
mixed  white  and  Indian  blood  who  had  '  *  adopted  the 
customs  and  habits  of  civilization,"  or  a  person  of  Indian 
blood  residing  in  the  State  who  had  adopted  ' '  the  lan- 
guage, customs  and  habits  of  civilization,"  and,  after  ex- 
amination before  a  District  Court  in  the  State,  had  been 
declared  capable  of  enjoying  the  rights  of  citizenship ; 
Kansas,  to  every  white  male  person  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  of  six  months  residence  in  the  State  next  preced- 
ing any  election,  and  thirty  days'  residence  in  the  town- 
ship or  ward,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  or  a  person 
of  foreign  birth  who  has  declared  his  intention  to  become 
a  citizen  ;  Oregon,  to  ' '  every  white  male  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  of  the  age  of  twenty- one  years  and 
upwards,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the  State  during  the 
six   months   immediately   preceding  such   election,  and 


THE  RIGHT  OF  SUFFRAGE.  7 1 

every  white  male  of  foreign  birth,  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  and  upwards,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the 
United  States  one  year  and  shall  have  resided  in  this 
State  during  the  six  months  immediately  preceding  such 
election,  and  shall  have  declared  his  intention  to  become 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  one  year  preceding  such 
election." 

The  outbreak  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  introduced 
new  features  into  the  qualifications  of  voters  in  the  ad- 
mission of  new  States.  West  Virginia,  the  first  of  the 
States  thus  admitted,  gave  the  right  of  suffrage  to  **  the 
white  male  citizens  of  the  State,"  excepting,  however, 
minors,  persons  of  unsound  mind,  paupers,  persons  "un- 
der conviction  of  treason,  felony,  or  bribery  in  an  elec- 
tion, ' '  and  persons  ' '  who  have  not  been  residents  of  the 
State  one  year  and  of  the  county  in  which  he  offers  to 
vote  thirty  days  next  preceding  such  ofier  ;"  Nevada,  to 
*  'every  white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  who  was 
not  laboring  under  the  disabilities  created  by  participa- 
tion in  the  Rebellion,  or  who  was  not  an  idiot  or  insane, 
having  been  an  actual,  not  a  constructive,  resident  in  the 
State  six  months  and  thirty  days  in  the  district  or 
county  next  preceding  the  election  ;"  Nebras'ka,  to  every 
white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  white  male 
person  of  foreign  birth  who  had  declared  his  intention 
to  become  a  citizen,  and  who  had  "  resided  in  the  State, 
county,  precinct  and  ward  for  the  time  provided  by  law;" 
Colorado,  to  all  male  persons  over  twenty-one  years  of  age 
who  were  Federal  citizens,  or  persons  of  foreign  birth,  who 


72  THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE. 

had  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens  at  least 
four  months  before  offering  to  vote,  and  who  had  resided 
in  the  State  six  months  immediately  preceding  the  elec- 
tion at  which  they  offered  to  vote,  "  and  in  the  county, 
city,  town,  ward  or  precinct,  such  time  as  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  law, ' '  and  women  were  given  the  right  to  vote 
at  school  district  elections  and  to  hold  school  district  of- 
fices on  equal  grounds  with  men  (i).  Wyoming,  the  two 
Dakotas,  Idaho,  Montana  and  Washington,  are  the 
latest  additions  to  the  sisterhood  of  States.  Wyoming 
has  granted  the  elective  franchise  to  citizens  of  the  United 
States  only,  irrespective  of  sex,  and  requires  a  residence 
and  educational  qualification.  North  Dakota  has  admit- 
ted to  the  right  of  suffrage  all  male  Federal  citizens,  and 
male  foreigners  who  have  declared  their  intentions,  and 
civilized  Indians  who  have  severed  their  tribal  relations. 
South  Dakota  has  admitted  male  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  those  of  foreign  birth  who  have  declared  their 
intentions  to  become  citizens  ;  and  women  may  vote  at 
any  election  held  solely  for  school  purposes,  and  may 
hold  any  office  in  the  State,  '  'except  as  otherwise  pro- 
vided for  in  the  Constitution."  Washington  and  Mon- 
tana gave  the  elective  franchise  to  male  Federal  citizens, 
and  those  who  were  qualified  electors  in  those  Territories; 
Idaho  to  male  Federal  citizens  of  six  months  residence. 

INTENT   OF    THE   FRAMERS   OF    THE    CONSTITUTION. 

Fin  the  organization  of  each  of  the  original  States  form- 
ing the  Federation,  there  was  a  wonderful  lack  of  har- 

(i)  Charters  aud  Constitutions  U.  S. 


THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE.  73 

mony  and  uniformity  as  to  the  qualifications  of  their 
respective  voters.  The  framers  of  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion seemed  to  realize  the  inconvenience  and  incongruity 
of  such  a  political  condition,  and,  so  far  as  they  were  able 
to  do  so,  without  trespassing  upon  the  sovereignty  of  the 
States  in  severalty,  endeavored  to  furnish  a  remedy,  by 
making  two  provisions  in  the  organic  law  which,  it  was 
reasonable  to  presume,  would  influence  future  legislation 
in  each  State,  and  ultimately  bring  about  an  uniform 
electoral  standard  and  an  uniform  standard  of  State  and 
Federal  citizenship.  One  of  these  provisions  was  the 
authority  conferred  upon  Congress  '  'to  establish  an  uni- 
form rule  of  naturalization  (i),"  and  the  other  requiring 
that  *  *the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifica- 
tions requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch 
of  the  State  Legislature  (2).'^  If  it  was  the  aim  and 
intent  of  the  framers  of  the  Federal  Constitution  to  bring 
about,  through  these  measures,  uniformity  in  the  elective 
standard  and  the  standard  of  citizenship,  it  has  failed. 
The  States  have,  each  in  its  own  way,  gone  on  establish- 
ing or  modifying  the  qualifications  of  electors  to  suit  their 
own  fancies,  with  little,  if  any,  consideration  or  regard  for 
electoral  uniformity,  or  for  the  national  welfare,  in  so  far 
as  it  may  ])e  directly  affected  or  influenced  by  such 
qualifications  Local  conditions  have  had  a  greater  influ- 
ence  than   anything   else   in  determining  the  status  of 

(i)  Constitution  of  the  U.  S.,  Art.  I,  Sec.  8. 
k2)  Id.,  Art.  I,  Sec.  2. 

As  aliens  are,  in  many  of  the  States,  qualified  electors  of  members  of  the 
I,e  islature,  they  are.  therefore,  privileged  to  vote  for  Presidential 
Electors  and  Congressmen. 


74  'THE   RIGHT  OF  SUFFRAGE. 

electors.  Some  of  the  States  adopted  Federal  citizenship 
as  the  chief  qualification  of  a  voter.  A  given  term  of 
residence  and  maturity  of  years  were  other  features 
deemed  essential  to  an  intelligent  exercise  of  the  right  of 
suffrage.  But  in  many  of  the  States,  the  standard  of 
Federal  citizenship  has  been  abandoned,  and  the  idea 
conveyed  in  the  Constitutional  provision  for  the  adoption 
of  "an  uniform  rule  for  the  naturalization  of  aliens, "  to 
fit  them  for  Federal  citizenship,  has  been  totally  ignored 
and  set  aside  in  fixing  the  qualifications  of  electors. 

POWERS  EXERCISED  BY  AI.IENS. 

-In  such  States  an  alien,  whose  allegiance  is  due  to  a 
foreign  government,  who  cannot  claim  the  protection  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  who  enjoys  none  of  the 
rights  of  American  citizenship  acquired  by  birth  or  in- 
heritance, or  with  which  he  may  be  invested  by  natural- 
ization, is,  at  the  ballot  box,  in  local.  State  and  Federal 
elections,  just  as  powerful  and  influential  as  the  native 
or  naturalized  citizen  whose  allegiance,  interests  and,  it 
is  presumed,  instincts  are  joined,  by  the  strongest  of 
bonds,  to  the  existence  and  welfare  of  the  American 
nation.  In  New  Hampshire,  for  instance,  ' '  every  male 
inhabitant  of  each  town  and  parish,  with  town  privi- 
leges, and  of  late  unincorporated,"  in  the  State,  who 
is  not  a  pauper  or  a  person  "excused  from  paying 
taxes  at  his  own  request,"  and  is  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  is  a  qualified  elector,  without  regard  to  the  place 
of  his    nativity,   to   the   question    of    naturalization,  or 


THK  RIGHT  OF  SUFFRAGE,  75 

to  his  intention,  or  to  the  length  of  time  of  his  res- 
idence (i).  The  sole  qualifications  of  an  elector  in  New- 
Hampshire  are  residence,  the  payment  of  taxes,  and  the 
attainment  of  the  age  of  twenty-one.  The  right  to  exer- 
cise the  elective  franchise  in  that  State  carries  with  it^ 
also,  the  right  to  hold  office:  "  And  every  person,  qual- 
ified as  the  Constitution  provides,  shall  be  considered  an 
inhabitant  for  the  purpose  of  electing  and  being  elected 
into  any  office  or  place  within  this  State,  in  the  town,, 
parish,  and  plantation  where  he  dwelleth  and  hath  his 
home  (2)."  The  Constitution  of  Illinois,  of  1848,  gave 
the  right  of  suffrage  to  '  *  every  white  male  inhabitant ' '  of 
the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  "a  resident  of  the  State  at  the 
time  of  its  adoption  ;"  and  the  Constitution  of  1870,  rati- 
fied and  confirmed  the  right  of  suffrage  which  an  alien 
inhabitant  had  acquired  under  the  Constitution  of  1848, 
although  establishing  new  qualifications  for  electors  who,, 
subsequent  to  that  date,  desired  for  the  first  time  to  exer- 
cise the  right  of  voting.  The  question  of  national  allegi- 
ance cuts  no  figure  in  the  status  of  an  elector  under  the 
Constitution  of  1848.  And  the  Constitution  of  1870  did 
not  disturb  it.  Therefore,  the  subject  of  a  foreign  gov- 
ernment, who  had  been  given  the  elective  franchise  in 
1848,  by  virtue  of  his  residence  in  the  State  at  the  time 
of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  retained  the  fran- 
chise without  surrendering  his  foreign  allegiance  or  tak- 
ing any  steps  toward  surrendering  it. 

(i)  Const,  of  N.  H.,  1792,  Part  II,  Sec.  28. 
(2)  Const,  of  N.  H,,  1792,  Part  II,  Sec  30. 


76  THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE. 

INDIANS   AS   VOTERS.  ^ 

Indians,  although  ineligible  to  Federal  citizenship  by 
any  ordinary  process  of  political  acquirement  (see  p.  42), 
may  enjoy  State  citizenship  and  the  rights  and  privileges 
pertaining  to  it  (the  right  of  suffrage  included)  in  many 
of  the  States.  But  it  rests  with  the  State  alone  to  de- 
termine whether  or  not  he  shall  be  vested  with  its  citizen- 
ship and  the  right  of  suffrage,  for  although  the  members 
of  an  Indian  tribe  may  occupy  territory  within  the  limits 
of  a  State  they  are  not  citizens  thereof,  nor  are  they  nec- 
essarily under  its  jurisdiction.  An  Indian  does  not.  how- 
ever, become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  when  a  State 
confers  on  him  the  right  to  vote  (i).     See  p.  47, 

In  some  States,  an  Indian  is  a  qualified  voter  if  he  is  a 
tax-payer,  Indians  not  taxed  being  classed  among  idiots 
and  insane  and  other  incompetents,  as  persons  not  quali- 
fied. The  Constitutions  of  some  States  expressly  stipu- 
late that  no  Indian  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  unless  he 
has  severed  his  tribal  relations,  has  adopted  the  habits 
and  customs  and  language  of  civilization,  and  is  a  tax- 
payer. But  the  Seminoles  of  Florida  preserved  their 
tribal  existence  and  enjoyed  the  right  of  suffrage  and  the 
privilege  of  special  representation  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, under  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  1868. 
Under  the  same  Constitution,  the  State  Legislature 
imposed  taxes  on  the  Seminoles,  which  constituted  them 
citizens  of  the  State  on  a  par  with  other  citizens,  but  this 

(i)  7  Atty.  Gen.  op.  726. 


THE   RIGHT  OF   SUFFRAGE.  77 

legislative  act  barred  them  thereafter  from  special  repre- 
sentation in  the  State  Legislature.  The  Constitution  of 
1885  makes,  therefore,  no  race  distinction  in  defining  the 
qualifications  of  electors.  No  distinction  is  made  between 
the  races  in  some  of  the  States,  as  to  citizenship  and 
voting  qualifications.  But  some  States  positively  debar 
the  Indian  from  either,  if  he  retains  any  relations  with 
his  tribe,  or  is  dependent,  in  any  degree,  upon  the  Federal 
Government  for  help  or  support.  The  State  of  South 
Dakota,  at  a  general  election  held  in  November,  1890, 
adopted  the  following  amendment  to  the  Constitution : 
*  'No  Indian  who  sustains  tribal  relations,  receives  support 
in  whole  or  in  part  from  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  or  holds  untaxable  land  in  severalty,  shall  be  per- 
mitted to  vote  at  any  election  held  under  this  Constitu- 
tion." In  the  Constitution  of  1849,  California  provided 
that  Indians  and  the  descendants  of  Indians  might  be 
admitted  to  the  right  of  suffrage  by  a  two-third  concur,  ent 
vote  of  the  Legislature,  "in  such  special  cases  as  such  a 
proportion  of  the  legislative  body  may  deem  just  and 
proper  (i)."  But  the  Constitution  adopted  in  1879  (now 
in  force)  is  silent  on  the  subject.  North  Dakota  admits 
to  the  right  of  suffrage  '  'civilized  persons  of  Indian  des- 
cent who  shall  have  severed  their  tribal  relations  two 
years  next  preceding  such  election."  Of  course,  all 
Indians  who  may  have  acquired  Federal  citizenship  under 
a  tribal  treaty  with  the  Federal  Government,  or  through 
the  agency  of  a  special  act  of  Congress,  have  the  right  to 

(i)  Const,  of  Cal.,  1849,  Art.  II,  Sec.  i. 


78  THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE. 

vote  in  any  State  or  Territory  after  compliance  with  the 
requirements  of  its  election  laws  as  to  other  electors,  such 
act  of  the  Government  or  of  Congress  being  an  absolute 
removal  of  all  disability. 

RACE   DISTINCTIONS   ABOLISHED.  ^ 

To  prevent  the  dominant  race  or  races  in  any  State 
interfering  with  or  depriving  the  members  of  any  other 
race,  previously  under  political  proscription,  of  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  right  of  suffrage  after  acquiring  the  right  of 
Federal  citizenship  and  complying  with  the  general  quali- 
fications of  an  elector  as  defined  by  the  State  Constitution, 
the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Amendments  to  the  Federal 
Constitution  were  adopted.  The  Fourteenth  Amendment 
provided  a  penalty  for  any  denial  of  the  right  to  vote  to 
any  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  except  for  crime  or 
rebellion,  for  Presidential  Electors,  Federal  Representa- 
tives, or  executive,  legislative  or  judicial  oflScers  of  the 
State,  by  reducing  the  basis  of  Congressional  representa- 
tion in  the  State  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of 
the  male  citizens  thus  denied  bear  to  the  whole  number 
of  male  citizens,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  in  such  State. 
The  Fifteenth  Amendment  goes  still  further,  prohibiting 
the  denial  or  abridgment  by  the  United  States,  or  any 
State,  of  the  right  to  vote  of  a  Federal  citizen  '  'on  account 
of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude."  And 
in  accordance  with  the  authority  given  it  by  the  same 
amendment,  Congress  adopted  the  following  provision  : 

An  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  are  otherwise  qualified  by  law  to 
vote  at  any  election  by  the  people  in  any  State,  Territory,  district,  county, 
■city,  parish,  township,  school  district,  municipality,  or  other  territorial  sub- 


THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE.  79 

division,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  such  elections,  without  distinction  of 
race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,  any  Constitution,  law.  custom, 
usage  or  regulation  of  any  State  or  Territory,  or  by  or  under  its  authority  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding. — Rev.  Stats.  U.  S. ,  Sec.  2004. 

When,  under  the  authorityof  the  Constitution  or  laws  of  any  State,  or 
the  laws  of  any  Territory,  any  act  is  required  to  be  done  as  a  pre-requisite  or 
qualification  for  voting,  and  by  such  Constitution  or  laws,  persons  or  officers 
are  charged  with  the  duty  of  furnishing  to  citizens  an  opportunity  to  perform 
such  pre-requisite,  or  to  become  qualified  to  vote,  every  such  person  and  of- 
ficer shall  give  to  all  citizens  of  the  United  States  the  same  and  equal  oppor- 
tunity to  perform  such  pre-requisite,  and  to  become  qualified  to  vote.— ^^z'. 
Stats.  U.  S.,  Sec.  2005. 

These  Constitutioual  provisions  and  acts  of  Congress 
were  specially  designed  for  the  protection  of  the  emanci- 
pated negro  ;  but  they  also  afford  protection  to  all  other 
citizens  of  the  United  States  belonging  to  races  ineligible 
to  Federal  citizenship  under  existing  laws,  who  have  ac- 
quired, or  may  acquire  citizenship  by  some  natural  or 
special  process,  such  as  by  birth  within  the  dominion 
and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  although 
of  ineligible  Chinese  parents,  or  by  naturalization  by 
treaty  or  by  special  act  of  Congress,  although  previously 
ineligible  owing  to  tribal  relationship. 

woman's  right  to  vote. 

Only  one  State  in  the  Federation  gives  woman  the 
right  to  vote,  namely,  Wyoming.  The  Constitution  of 
that  State  declares  that  '  *  the  rights  of  citizens  of  the 
State  of  Wyoming  to  vote  and  hold  ofi&ce,  shall  not  be 
denied  or  abridged  on  account  of  sex  (i). "  Wyoming  is 
not  the  first  State  in  the  American  Federation  to  try  the 
•experiment  of  '*  woman  suffrage."  Woman  voted  in  New 
Jersey  under  the  first  Constitution  (2)  of  that  State, 
which  gave  the  elective  franchise  to   ' '  all  inhabitants  of 

(i)  Constitution  of  Wyoming,  Art.  VI,  Sec.  i. 
(2)  Constitution  of  New  Jersey  (1776)  Subd.  IV. 


8o       ^  THE   RIGHT   OF   SUFFRAGE. 


/ 


the  colony,  of  full  age,  "who  were  "  worth  fifty  pounds 
proclamation-money."  In  1793,  the  legislature  of  the  State 
passed  an  act  to  regulate  elections,  which  provided  that 
"  every  voter  shall  openly,  and  in  full  view,  deposit  his 
or  her  ballot,  which  shall  be  a  single  written  ticket  con- 
taining the  names  of  the  persons  for  whom  he  or  she 
votes  (i)."  The  privilege  thus  exercised  was  abolished 
in  1807  (2),  and  it  has  never  been  restored.  The  present 
Constitution,  adopted  in  1844,  restricts  the  suffrage  to 
"every  white  (3)  male  citizen  of  the  United  States." 
Women  are,  consequently,  no  longer  voters  in  New 
Jersey. 

In  the  history  of  the  United  States,  therefore,  only 
two  States  have  given  women  the  same  right  to  vote  as 
is  given  to  men,  and  one  of  those  two  has  since  abrogated 
the  right. 

It  is,  however,  in  the  power  of  the  legislature  of  North 
Dakota,  with  the  consent  of  the  people,  to  extend  the  elect- 
ive franchise  to  women  in  that  State.  Its  Constitution 
provides  that  '  'the  legislative  assembly  shall  be  empow- 
ered to  make  further  extensions  of  the  suffrage  hereafter, 
at  its  discretion,  to  all  citizens  of  mature  age  and  sound 
mind,  not  convicted  of  crime,  without  regard  to  sex;" 
but,  if  the  power  thus  vested  in  the  legislative  assembly 
is  exercised,  the  result  must  be  ratified  by  a  majority  of 
electors  voting  at  a  general  election,  before  it  can  become 

(/)  American  Citizen' s  Manual,  8g,  go. 

(2)  Id. 

(3)  The  word  "  white  "  was  stricken   out  by  Constitutional  amendment 

in  1875. 


THE  RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE.  8 1 

law.  As  it  is,  all  women  who  are  citizens  of  the  United 
States  or  (if  aliens)  have  declared  their  intention  to  be- 
come Federal  citizens,  "may  vote  for  all  school  officers, 
and  upon  all  question  pertaining  solel}^  to  school  matters, 
and  be  eligible  to  any  school  office  (i)." 

The  Constitution  of  the  State  of  South  Dakota  also 
gives  woman  the  right  to  vote  ' '  at  any  election  held 
solely  for  school  purposes,  and  she  may  hold  any  office 
in  the  State,  except  as  otherwise  constitutionally  pro- 
vided for  {2)." 

In  accordance  with  a  provision  in  the  Constitution  (3), 
an  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature  March  6,  1890,  sub- 
mitting to  the  people  of  South  Dakota,  at  the  general 
election  held  in  November  of  the  same  year,  the  question 
of  striking  out  the  word  ' '  male' '  from  the  suffrage  article 
of  the  Constitution.  The  object  of  the  act  was  to  deter- 
mine whether  there  should  be  any  distinction  thereafter 
between  the  sexes  in  the  right  to  vote  at  all  elections  in 
the  State.  The  people  rejected  the  proposed  amend- 
ment, and  women  are,  consequently,  denied  the  right  of 
voting  in  South  Dakota  on  all  public  questions  except- 
ing such  as  pertain  solely  to  schools. 

A  similar  amendment  proposed  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  State  of  Washington  was  also  rejected  by  its  electors. 

Idaho  has  given  woman  the  right  to  vote  at  any  school 
district  election  and  to  hold  any  school  district  office. 

Montana   enlarges  the  privileges  granted   woman   by 

(i)  Constitution  North  of  Dakota,  Art.  V,  Sec,  128. 

(2)  Constitution  of  South  Dakota,  Art.  VII,  Sec.  9. 

(3)  Id.,  Art.  VII,  Sec.  2. 


82  THE   RIGHT   OF  SUFFRAGE. 

Idaho  by  qualifying  her  to  hold  the  office  of  County 
Superintendent  of  Schools  and  the  right,  when  paying 
taxes,  to  vote  on  all  questions  submitted  to  the  vote  of 
the  taxpayers  of  the  State. 

In  the  city  of  Boston,  women  may  vote  for  school  com- 
mitteemen, but  for  no  other  public  officer  ;  and  in  many 
cities  in  the  United  States  they  are  eligible  to  member- 
ship on  some  of  the  local  boards  of  charities,  education, 
etc. 

Women  have  the  same  rights  in  the  courts  as  men. 
They  can  also  avail  themselves  of  the  rights  of  the  home- 
stead law,  and  other  privileges  granted  citizens.  In  the 
sense  conveyed  in  the  idea  of  membership  of  a  nation, 
women,  if  born  of  native-bom  parents,  or  parents  who  have 
gone  through  the  form  of  naturalization  prescribed  by 
law,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States,  but  they  cannot 
enjoy  the  right  of  suffi-age,  unless  the  State,  which  has 
exclusive  power  in  the  matter,  desires  to  confer  it,  for 
the  reason  that  suffi-age  is  not  a  privilege  or  an  immun- 
ity of  citizenship  as  defined  by  the  XlVth  Amendment 
tu  the  Federal  Constitution.  Therefore,  where  a  State 
Constitution  restricts  the  right  of  suffi-age  to  male  inhab- . 
itants  or  citizens,  it  operates  as  an  absolute  bar  against 
the  enjoyment  of  the  right  by  woman.  And  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  has  held  that  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  several  States  that  commit  the  trust  of 
suffrage  to  men  alone  are  not  necessarily  void,  for  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  does  not  confer  the 
right  on  any  one  (i). 

(i)  21  Wallace.  162. 


THE   RIGHT   OF   SUFFRAGE.  83 


CITIZENS  NOT  ENTITI.ED  TO  VOTE. 

The  Constitutions  of  several  of  the  States  specially 
deny  the  right  to  vote  at  an  election  created  thereunder 
to  "every  soldier,  seaman  (i)  and  marine  in  the  service 
of  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States, ' '  and  the  act 
of  Congress  governing  Territorial  elections  prohibits  any 
"officer,  soldier,  seaman,  mariner,  or  other  person  in 
the  army  or  navy,  or  attached  to  troops  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States"  from  voting  in  a  Territory,  except 
under  specified  limitations  as  to  residence  (2)."  Nor  is 
the  suffrage  granted  to  any  of  the  following  classes  of 
^citizens  in  any  of  the  States  and  Territories: 

Minors. 

Idiots. 

Insane. 

Paupers. 

Convicts. 

Polygamists. 

Minors  are  given  the  right  to  vote  on  attaining  matur- 
ity of  years ;  the  insane,  whenever  restoration  to  reason 
shall  have  been  judicially  acknowledged ;  convicts,  on 
the  issuance  of  a  pardon  from  a  lawful  source  or  the  re- 
moval of  disability  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  or  of  Con- 
gress. 

Convicts  lose  their  right  to  vote  because  of  the  hein- 

(i)  But  Missouri  has,  singularly  enough,  overlooked  naval  seamen  in  its 
prohibitory  provision.  See  Constitution  of  MriJinnrii  >&3&.  Art  VIII, 
Sec.  II.  .^Jfi^^^x^~A^^ 

(2)  Rev.  Stats.  U.  S. ,  Sec.  i860,  Subd.  3.        y^^T'^  J=^'~'^^^ 


84  THE    RIGHT  OF  SUFFRAGE. 

ousness  of  their  offenses  against  society.  Paupers  are 
deprived  of  it,  because  they  are  a  charge  and  a  burden  on 
the  State.  Idiots  are  not  granted  it,  because  they  cannot 
comprehend  its  object  or  meaning  and  do  not  understand 
how  to  use  it. 

Polygamy  is  proscribed  in  all  States  and  Territories 
under  the  laws  relating  to  bigamy,  and  in  each  of  the  sev- 
eral States  the  penalty  for  bigamy,  which  is  among  the 
crimes  classed  as  infamous,  carries  with  it  disfranchise- 
ment. The  practice  of  polygamy  among  the  Mormons 
in  Utah,  under  cover  of  their  religious  faith  and  in  open 
defiance  of  the  anti-bigamy  laws  of  the  United  States, 
resulted  in  the  passage  by  Congress  of  a  special  act  de- 
priving polygamists  of  the  right  to  vote  or  to  hold  public 
office  in  the  Territories,  or  anywhere  under  the  Federal 
Government  (i). 

In  some  States,  persons  who  have  engaged  as  princi- 
pals or  accessories  in  a  duel  are  not  entitled  to  vote  at 
any  election.  In  other  States,  the  lack  of  taxable  prop- 
erty or  of  a  specific  degree  of  education,  disqualifies  a 
citizen  from  the  right  of  voting.  Insufficient  residence  is 
a  bar  to  voting  in  all  States  and  Territories.  And,  not- 
withstanding the  provisions  of  Section  2004  of  the  Re- 
vised Statutes,  the  several  States  have  the  power  to  deny 

(i;  "  That  no  polygamist,  bigamist  or  any  person  cohabitintf  with  more 
than  one  woman,  and  no  woman  cohabiting  with  any  of  the  per- 
sons described  as  aforesaid  in  this  section,  in  any  Territory  or  other 
Elace  over  which  the  United  States  have  exclusive  jurisdiction,  shall 
e  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election  held  in  such  Territory  or  other 
place  or  be  eligible  for  election  or  appointment  to,  or  be  entitled 
to  hold  any  office  or  place  of  public  trust,  honor  or  emolument 
in,  under,  and  for  any  such  Territory  or  place,  or  under  the  United 
States."— /4  c/  of  March  23, 1882.    22  U.  S.  Stats.,  Oi.  47,  Sec.  8.  p.  31. 


THK   RIGHT    OF  SUFFRAGE.  85 

the  right  of  suffrage  to  any  citizen  of  the  United  States 
on  account  of  age,  sex,  place  of  birth,  vocation,  want  of 
property  or  intelligence,  neglect  of  civic  duties,  crime,  or 
other  causes  not  specified  in  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  of 
the  Federal  Constitution  (i),  and  this  power  has  been 
exercised  by  some  of  them.  An  examination  of  the  vot- 
ing qualifications  established  by  the  several  States,  will 
show  that  there  are  many  perplexing  differences  between 
them  now  existing,  out  of  which  serious  complications 
and  irregularities  have  sprung. 


I._VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS  IN  THE 
SEVERAL  STATES. 

The  several  States,  in  their  respective  relations  to  the 
right  of  suffrage,  may  be  classified  as  follows: 

1 .  States  restricting  the  suffrage  to  male  citizens  of 
the  United  States. 

2.  States  restricting  it  to  male  citizens  of  the  United 
States  and  male  persons  of ~  foreign  birth  who  have  de- 
clared their  intention  to  become  citizens  of  the  United 
States. 

3.  States  restricting  it  to  "male  citizens  of  the  State. " 

4.  States  restricting  it  to  "male  citizens." 

5.  States  restricting  it  to  "male  inhabitants." 

(i)  1  Sawyer,  374. 


86 


VOTING    QUAI.IFICATIONS. 


6.  States  granting  it  to  *  'all  citizens  of  the  United 
States." 

7.  States  granting  it  to  ''male  citizens,"  or  to  "male 
citizens  of  the  United  States,"  or  to  "male  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  male  aliens  who  have  declared  their 
intention  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States,"  under 
special  limitations. 

In  each  of  these  classifications,  the  enjoyment  of  the 
franchise  is  dependent,  however,  on  age  and  residence 
qualifications  (i). 


CLASS  I. 


1.  Caufornia,     6.  Maine, 

2.  FivORIDA, 

3.  Idaho, 

4.  I1.LIN01S, 

5.  Iowa 


1 1 .  New  Jersey, 


7.  Maryland,  12.  Ohio, 

8.  Mississippi,  13.  South  Carolina, 

9.  Montana,     14.  Vermont, 
--      ,              10.  Nevada,        15.  Washington. 

Constitutional  provisions  of  States  whose  qualified 
voters  are  "male  citizens  of  the  United  States." 

(i)  The  legal  age  of  twenty-one  has  been  adopted  by  all  States  as  the  age 
qualification  of  an  elector.  But  there  is  a  great  difference  be  ween  the  several 
States  as  to  residence  qualification.  In  twenty-nine  States,  the  residence 
qualification  is  fixed  at  one  year.  These  States  are  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Cali- 
fornia, Connecticut,  Delaware,  Florida,  Georgia,  Illinois,  Louisiana,  Maryland, 
Massachusetts,  Missouri,  Montana,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  North  Carolina, 
North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Penns>lvanife  (nativeor  former  electors  of  this  Slate,  who 
have  been  absent  and  returned,  six  months),  Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina, 
Tennessee,  Texas,  Vermont,  Virginia,  Washington,  West  Virginia,  Wisconsin 
and  Wyoming.  In  ten  of  them  the  term  of  residence  is  fixed  at  six  months. 
These  States  are  Colorado,  Idaho,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Mississippi,  Ne- 
btaska,  Nevada,  Oregon  and  South  Dakota.  In  Maine  and  Michigan,  the 
term  of  residence  to  qualify  as  an  elector  is  placed  at  three  months  •,  in 
Minnesota,  at  four  months;  in  Kentucky,  at  two  years  ;  but  in  New  Hampshire 
no  time  is  specified,  proof  that  he  is  an  inhabitant  being  suflRcient. 


VOTING  QUAI.IFICATIONS.  87 


California. 

Citizens  of  Mexico,  resident  in  California  for  one  year 
after  its  acquisition  by  the  United  States,  acquired  citi- 
zenship in  the  United  States  under  the  provisions  of  the 
Treaty  ot  Queretaro. 

*ARTICLE  I. 

Sec.  24.  No  property  qualification  shall  ever  be  required  for  any  person  to 
vote  or  hold  oflRce. 

ARTICI.E   II. 

Section  i.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  every  male  person 
•who  shall  have  acquired  the  rights  of  citizenship  under  or  by  virtue  of  the 
treaty  of  Queretaro,  and  every  male  naturalized  citizen  thereof,  who  shall 
have  become  such  ninety  days  pnor  to  any  election,  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  who  shall  have  been  a  resident  of  the  State  one  year  next  preceding  the 
election,  and  of  the  county  in  which  he  claims  his  vote  ninety  days,  and  in  the 
election  precinct  sixty  c  ays,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elections  which  are 
now  or  which  may  hereafter  be  authorized  by  law ;  provided,  no  native  of 
China,  no  idiot,  insane  person,  or  person  convicted  of  any  infamous  crime,  and 
no  person  hereafter  convicted  of  the  embezzlement  or  misappropriation  of 
public  money,  shall  ever  exercise  the  privilege  of  an  elector  in  this  State. 

Sec.  4.  For  the  purposes  of  voting,  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  or  lost  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  his  absence  while 
employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  ;  nor  while  engaged  in  the  navi- 
gation of  the  waters  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States  ;  or  of  the  high  seas ; 
nor  while  a  student  at  any  seminary  of  learning  ;  nor  while  kept  in  any  alms- 
house or  other  asylum,  at  public  expense  ;  nor  while  confined  in  any  public 
prison. 

ARTICLE  XIX. 

Sec.  4.  The  presence  of  foreigners  ineligible  to  become  citizens  of  the  United 
•States  is  declared  to  be  dangerous  to  the  well-being  of  the  State,  and  the  I^eg- 
islature  shall  discourage  their  immigration  by  all  the  means  within  its 
power.    *    *    * 

ARTICLE  XX. 

Sec  2.  Any  citizen  of  this  State  who  shall,  after  the  adoption  of  this  Con- 
stitution, fight  a  duel  with  deadly  weapons,  or  send  or  accept  a  challenge  to 

*Const.  of  California,  1879. 


88  VOTING  QUAUFICATIONS. 

fight  a  duel  with  deadly  weapons,  either  within  this  State  or  out  of  it,  or  who 
shall  act  as  second,  or  knowingly  aid  or  assist  in  any  manner  those  thus 
offending,  shall  not  be  allowed  to  hold  any  office  of  profit,  or  to  enjoy  the  right 
of  suffrage  under  this  Constitution. 

Sec.  II.  L,aws  shall  be  made  to  exclude  from  office,  serving  on  juries,  and 
from  the  right  of  suffrage,  rersous  convicted  of  bribery,  perjury,  forgery,  mal- 
feasance in  office,  or  other  high  crimes.  The  privilege  of  free  suffrage  shall  be 
supported  by  laws  regulating  elections,  and  prohibiting,  under  adequate  pen- 
alties, all  undue  influence  thereon  from  power,  bribery,  tumult,  or  other 
improper  practice. 

Sec.  12.  Absence  from  this  State,  on  business  of  the  State  or  of  the  United 
States,  shall  uot  affect  the  question  of  residence  of  any  person. 


Florida. 

♦ARTICLK  VI. 

Section  I.  Every  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  up- 
wards, that  shall,  at  the  time  of  registration,  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
or  that  shall  have  declared  his  intention  to  become  such  in  conformity  to  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  and  that  shall  have  resided  and  had  his  habitation, 
domicile,  home  and  place  of  permanent  abode  in  Florida  for  one  year,  and  in 
the  county  for  six  months,  shall  in  such  county  be  deemed  a  qualified  elector 
at  all  elections  under  this  Constitution. 

Sec.  2,  The  Legislature,  at  its  first  session  after  the  ratification  of  this 
Constitution,  shall  provide  by  law  for  the  registration  of  all  the  legally  quali- 
fied voters  in  each  county,  and  for  the  returns  of  elections ;  and  shall  also 
provide  that  after  the  completion,  from  time  to  time,  of  such  registration,  no 
person  not  duly  registered  according  to  law  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  (i). 

Sec.  3.  Every  elector  shall,  at  the  time  of  his  registration,  take  and  sub- 
scribe to  the  following  oath:  "  I  do  solemnly  swear  or  affirm  that  I  will  pro- 
tect and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  of 
Florida,  that  I  am  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  have  been  a  resident  of  the 
State  of  Florida  for  twelve  months  and  of  this  county  for  six  months,  and  I 
am  qualified  to  vote  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  State  of  Florida." 

Sec.  4.  No  person  under  guardianship,  non  compos  tnentis  or  insane,  shall 
be  allowed  to  vote  at  any  election,  nor  shall  any  person  convicted  of  felony  by 
a  court  of  record  be  qualified  to  vote  at  any  election  unless  restored  to  civil 
rights. 

(*)  Constitution  of  Florida,  1885. 
(i)  Act  adopted  June  7,  1887. 


VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS.  89 

Sec.  s.  The  Legislature  shall  have  power  to,  and  shall  enact  the  neces- 
sary laws  to  exclude  from  every  office  of  honor,  power,  trust  or  profit,  civil  or 
military,  within  the  State,  and  from  the  right  of  suffrage,  all  persons  con- 
victed of  bribery,  perjury,  larceny,  or  of  infamous  crime,  or  who  shall  make  , 
or  become  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in ,  any  bet  or  wager,  the  result  of 
which  shall  depend  upon  any  election  ;  or  that  shall  hereafter  fight  a  duel  or 
send  or  accept  a  challenge  to  fight,  or  that  shall  be  a  second  to  either  party  ^ 
or  that  shall  be  the  bearer  of  such  challenge  or  acceptance  ;  but  the  legal  dis- 
ability shall  not  accrue  until  after  trial  and  conviction  by  due  form  of  law  (i). 
Sec.  7.  At  any  election  at  which  a  citizen  or  subject  of  any  foreign  coun  • 
try  shall  oflFer  to  vote,  under  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution,  if  required 
by  an  elector,  he  shall  produce  to  the  persons  lawfully  authorized  to  conduct 
and  supervise  such  election  a  duly  sealed  and  certified  copy  of  hi-  declaration 
of  intention,  and  if  unable  to  do  so  by  reason  that  such  copy  cannot  be  ob- 
tained at  the  time  of  such  election,  he  shall  be  allowed  to  make  aflfidavit  be- 
fore a  proper  officer,  setting  forth  the  reason  why  he  is  unable  to  furnish 
such  certificate,  and  if  said  affidavit  prove  satisfactory  to  the  inspectors  they 
shall  allow  said  elector  to  cast  his  vote  ;  and  any  naturalized  citizen  offering 
to  vote  shall,  if  so  required  by  any  elector,  produce  his  certificate  of  natural- 
ization, or  a  duly  certified  copy  thereof,  and  in  the  event  that  said  elector 
cannot  produce  the  same,  he  shall  be  allowed  to  make  affidavit  before  a 
proper  officer  stating  in  full  the  reason  why  it  cannot  be  furnished,  and  if  sat- 
isfactory to  the  inspectors  of  said  election  such  elector  shall  be  allowed  to 
vote. 

Sec.  8.  The  Legislature  shall  have  power  to  make  the  payment  of  the  cap- 
itation tax  a  pre-requisite  for  voting,  and  all  such  taxes  received  shall  go  in- 
to the  school  fund. 


Idaho. 

[See  also  Appendix].  , 

Women  permitted  to  vote  at  school  district  elections  r 
and  to  hold  any  school  district  office. 

ACT  OF  FEBRUARY  25,  1891. 
Section  2.  That  every  male  person  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years , 
possessing  the  qualifications  following,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elec- 
tions. He  shall  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  and  shall  have  resided  in 
this  State  six  mouths  immediately  preceding  the  election  at  which  he  offers 
to  vote,  and  in  the  county  thirty  days;  Provided,  that  no  person  shall  be  per- 

(I)  Act  adopted  Junes,  1887. 


90  VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

mitted  to  vote  at  any  county  seat  election  who  has  not  resided  in  the  county 
six  months  and  in  the  precinct  ninety  days  where  he  oflFers  to  vote,  nor 
shall  any  person  be  permitted  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  division  of  a 
county  or  striking  off  from  any  county  any  part  thereof,  who  has  not  the 
qualifications  provided  for  in  Section  3,  Article  XVIII  of  the  Constitution; 
nor  shall  any  person  be  denied  the  right  to  vote  at  any  school  district  elec- 
tion, nor  to  hold  any  school  district  office  on  account  of  sex. 

Section  3,  No  person  is  permitted  to  vote  who  is  not  registered 
as  provided  by  law,  or  who  is  under  guardianship,  idiotic  or  insane, 
or  who  has  at  any  place  been  convicted  of  treason,  felony,  embez- 
zlement of  public  funds,  bartering  or  selling,  or  offering  to  barter 
or  sell  his  vote,  or  purchasing  or  oflfering  to  purchase  the  vote  of 
another,  or  other  infamous  crime,  and  who  has  not  been  restored  to 
the  right  of  citizenship,  or  who  at  the  time  of  such  election  is  confined  in 
prison  on  conviction  of  a  criminal  ofiFense,  or  who  after  passing  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  and  since  the  first  day  of  January,  A.  '  .  1888,  has  been,  or  is  a 
bigamist  or  i>olygamist,  or  is  living  or  has  lived  in  what  is  known  as  patri- 
archal, plural  or  celestial  marriage,  or  in  violation  of  any  law  of  this  State, 
or  of  the  United  States,  forbidding  any  such  crime;  or  who  in  any  manner 
teaches  or  has  taught,  advises  or  has  advised,  counsels  or  has  counseled, 
aids  or  has  aided,  encourages  or  has  encouraged,  any  person  to  enter  into 
bigamy,  polygamy,  or  such  patriarchal,  plural  or  celestial  marriage,  or  to  live 
in  violation  of  any  such  law,  or  to  commit  any  such  crime;  or  who  has  been 
a  member  of,  or  contributes  or  has  contributed  to  the  support,  aid  or  en- 
couragement of  any  order,  organization,  association,  corporation  or  society 
which  teaches  or  has  taught,  advises  or  has  advised,  counsels  or  has  coun- 
seled, encouraged  or  aided  any  person  to  enter  into  bigamy,  polygamy,  or 
such  patriarchal  or  plural  marriage,  or  which  teaches  or  has  taught,  advises 
or  has  advised  that  the  laws  of  this  State,  or  of  the  Territory  of  Idaho  before 
its  admission  as  a  State  into  the  Union,  or  of  the  United  States  applicable  to 
the  Territory  of  Idaho,  prescribing  rules  of  civil  conduct  are  not  the  supreme 
law.  * 

Sec.  4.  For  purpose  of  voting  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have  gained 
or  lost  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  absence  while  employed  in 
the  service  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  nor  while  engaged  in  the 
navigation  of  the  waters  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  nor  while  a 
student  of  any  institution  of  learning,  nor  while  kept  at  any  almshouse  or 
other  asylum  at  the  public  expense. 

Sec.  5.  Every  qualified  elector  shall  be  eligible  to  hold  any  office  of  this 
State  for  which  he  is  an  elector,  except  as  otherwise  provided  by  the  Consti- 
tution. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  9 1 

Illinois. 

Aliens  voting  under  the  Constitution  of  1848. 
Office  holding  limited  to  Federal  citizens. 
Women  given  the  right  to  vote  for  school  officers. 

♦ARTICLE  VII. 

Section  i.  Every  person  having  resided  in  this  State  one  year,  in  the 
county  ninety  days,  and  in  the  election  district  thirty  days  next  preceding  any 
g  election  therein,  who  was  an  elector  in  this  State  on  the  ist  day  of  April,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord,  1848  [see  Constitutional  provision  of  1848],  or  obtained  a 
certificate  of  naturalization,  before  any  court  of  record  in  this  State,  prior  to 
the  first  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  L<-rd,  1870,  or  who  shall  be  a  male  g 
citizen  of  the  United  States  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  shall  be  en- 
titled to  vote  at  such  election. 

g  June  19,  1891,  an  act  of  the  Legislature  was  approved  conferring  the 
right  to  vote  for  school  officers  on  women  and  it  went  into  force  July  i,  1891. 
The  act  is,  however,  assumed  to  be  unconstitutional,  conflicting  with  these 
provisions  in  this  article. 

Sec.  4.  No  elector  shall  be  deemed  to  have  lost  his  residence  in  this  State 
by  reason  of  his  absence  on  the  business  of  the  United  States,  or  this  State,  or 
in  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  5.  No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  army  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  the  State  in  consequence  of  being  stationed 
therein. 

Sec.  6,  No  person  shall  be  elected  or  appointed  to  any  office  in  the  State, 
civil  or  military,  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not 
have  resided  in  this  State  one  year  next  preceding  the  election  or  appoint- 
ment. 

Sec.  7.  The  general  assembly  shall  pass  laws  excluding  from  the  right  of 
suffrage  persons  convicted  of  Infamous  crimes  (i). 

*Const.  of  1S70. 

(i)  No  person  who  has  been  legally  convicted  of  any  crime,  the  punish- 
ment of  wiiich  is  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary,  shall  be  permitted  to 
vole  at  any  election,  unless  he  shall  be  restored  to  the  right  to  vote  by  par- 
don. Starr  dif  Curtis'  Annotated  Stats,  of  III.,  Ch.  j6,  %  72,  p.  1012.  Or  by  the 
expiration  of  his  disfi  anchisement  under  section  83  of  this  act.  Cotktan's 
Anno.  Ed.  Rev.  Stats.,  III.  p,  62J.  And  the  effect  of  a  sentence  of  disfranchise- 
ment *  *  shall  be  to  deprive  such  persons  enteuced  of  the  right  to  vote  at 
any  general  or  special  election,  or  town  meeting  within  this  State,  for  the 
period  of  time  fixed  by  the  court,  where  such  person  shall  be  convicted  under 
this  Section.    Id.  Set.  83,  p.  630. 


92  VOTING   QUAI^IFICATIONS. 

Following  ivS  the  Constitutional  provision  of  1848: 

ARTICI.E  VI. 

Sec.  I.  In  all  elections  every  white  male  citizen  above  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one years,  having  resided  in  the  State  one  year  next  preceding  any  elec- 
tion, shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  such  election  ;  and  every  white  male  inhabi- 
tant of  the  age  aforesaid  7vho  tnay  be  a  resident  of  the  State  at  the  time  of  the 
vdoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  have  the  right  of  voting  as  aforesaid  ;  but  no 
such  citizen  or  inhabitant  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  except  in  the  district  or 
county  in  which  he  shall  actually  reside  at  the  time  of  such  election. 


lowA. 

*ARTICIvE:   II. 

Section  i.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  who  shall  have  been  a  resident  of  the  State  six  months  next  preced- 
ing the  election,  and  the  county  in  which  he  claims  his  vote  sixty  days,  shall 
be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elections  which  are  now  or  hereafter  may  be  authorized 
by  law. 

Sec.  4,  No  person  in  the  military,  naval  or  marine  service  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  considered  a  resident  of  this  State  by  being  stationed  in  any 
garrison,  barrack,  or  military  or  naval  station  within  this  State. 

Sec.  5.  No  idiot  or  insane  person,  or  persons  convicted  of  any  infamous- 
crime,  shall  be  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  an  elector. 


Maine. 

tARTlCl^E  II, 

Section  i.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  and  upwards,  excepting  paupers,  persons  under  guardianship,  and 
Indians  not  taxed,  having  his  residence  established  in  this  State  for  the  term 
of  three  months  next  preceding  any  election,  shall  be  an  elector  for  governor^ 
senators  and  representatives,  in  the  town  or  plantation  where  his  residence  is 
so  established,  and  the  elections  shall  be  by  written  ballot.  But  persons  in  the 
military,  naval  or  marine  service  of  the  United  States,  or  this  St  te,  shall  not 
be  considered  as  having  obtained  such  established  residence  by  being  stationed 
in  any  garrison,  barrack  or  military  place,  in  any  town  or  plantation  ;  nor 

*Coust.  of  Iowa,  1857. 

fConst.  of  Maine,  1820,  and  amendments  of  1865. 


VOTING  QUAIvIFICATIONS.  93 

•shall  the  residence  of  a  student  at  any  seminary  of  learning  entitle  him  to  the 
Tight  of  suffrage  in  the  town  or  plantation  where  such  seminary  is  established. 
No  person,  however,  shall  be  deemed  to  have  lost  his  residence  by  reason  of 
his  absence  from  the  State  in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States,  or  of 
this  State. 

Sec.  4.  The  election  of  governor,  senators  and  representatives,  shall  be  on 
the  second  Monday  of  September,  annually,  forever.  But  citizens  of  the  State 
aosent  therefrom  in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States,  or  of  this  State, 
and  not  in  the  regular  army  of  the  United  States,  being  otherwise  qualified 
electors,  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  on  Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in 
November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-four, 
for  governor  and  senators,  and  their  votes  shall  be  counted  and  allowed  in 
the  same  manner  and  with  the  same  effect  as  if  given  on  the  second  Monday  of 
September  in  that  year.  And  they  shall  be  allowed  to  votejfor  governor,  sena- 
tors and  representatives  on  the  second  Monday  of  September  annually  there- 
after forever  in  the  manner  herein  provided.  On  the  day  of  election  a  poll 
shall  be  opened  at  every  place  without  this  State  where  a  regiment,  battalion, 
battery,  company,  or  dttachmeut  of  not  less  than  twenty  soldiers  from  the 
State  of  Maine  may  be  found  or  stationed,  and  every  citizen  of  said  State  of  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  in  such  military  service,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  as 
aforesaid  ;  and  he  shall  be  considered  as  voting  in  the  city,  town,  plantation 
and  connty  ill  this  State  where  he  resided  when  he  entered  the  service.    *    * 

ARTICLE  IX. 

Sec.  2.  Butcitizens  of  this  State  absent  therefrom  in  the  military  service 
of  the  United  States  or  of  this  State,  and  not  in  the  regular  army  of  the  United 
States,  being  otherwise  qualified  electors,  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  for  judges 
and  registers  of  probate,  sheriffs,  and  all  other  county  ofl&cers,  on  the  Tuesday 
next  after  the  first  Monday  of  November,  in  the  year  1864,  and  their  votes  shall 
be  counted  and  allowed  in  the  same  manner  and  with  the  same  effect  as  if 
given  on  the  second  Monday  of  September  in  that  year.  And  they  shall  be 
allowed  to  vote  for  all  such  ofl&cers  on  the  second  Monday  in  September  annu- 
ally thereafter  forever,    *    * 


Maryland. 

^ARTICLE  I. 

Section  i.    *    *    *    *    and  every  white  (i)  male  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  or  upward,  who  has  been  a  resident  of 

*Const.  of  Maryland,  1867. 

(I)  Annulled  by  XVth  Amendt  Fed.  Const. 


94  VOTING   QUAI.IFICATIONS. 

the  State  for  one  year,  and  of  the  legislative  district  of  Baltimore  city,  or  of 
the  county  in  which  he  may*  offer  to  vote,  for  six  months  next  preceding  the 
election,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  in  the  ward  or  election  district  in  which  he 
resides,  at  all  elections  hereafter  to  be  held  in  this  State  ;  and,  in  case  any 
county  or  city  shall  be  so  divided  as  to  form  portions  of  different  electoral 
districts  for  the  election  of  Representatives  in  Congress,  Senators,  delegates, 
or  other  officers,  then,  to  entitle  a  person  to  vote  for  such  officer,  he  must  have 
been  a  resident  of  that  part  of  the  county  or  city  which  shall  form  a  part  of 
the  electoral  district  in  which  he  offers  to  vote  for  six  months  next  preceding 
the  election  ;  but  a  person  who  shall  have  acquired  a  residence  in  such  county 
or  city,  entitling  him  to  vote  at  any  such  election,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  in 
the  election  district  from  which  he  removed  until  he  shall  have  acquired  a 
residence  in  the  part  of  the  county  or  city  to  which  he  has  removed. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  convicted  of  lar- 
ceny or  other  infamous  crime,  unless  pardoned  by  the  Governor,  shall  ever 
thereafter  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election  in  this  State  ;  and  no  person  under 
guardianship  as  a  lunatic,  or  as  a  person  non  compos  mentis,  shall  be  en- 
titled to  vote. 

Sec.  3.  If  any  person  shall  give  or  oflFer  to  give,  directly  or  indirectly, 
any  bribe,  present,  or  reward,  or  any  promise,  or  any  security  for  the  pay- 
ment or  the  delivery  of  money,  or  any  other  thing,  to  induce  any  voter  to  re- 
frain from  casting  his  vote,  or  to  prevent  him,  in  any  way,  from  voting,  or  to 
procure  a  vote  for  any  candidate  or  person  proposed  or  voted  for  as  elector  of 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  or  Representatives  in  Con- 
gress, or  for  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  created  by  the  Constitution  or  laws  of 
this  State,  or  by  the  ordinances  or  authority  of  the  Mayor  and  City  Council 
of  Baltimore,  the  person  giving  or  offering  to  give,  and  the  person 
receiving  the  same,  and  any  person  who  gives  or  causes  to  be  given  an  illegal 
vote,  knowing  it  to  be  such,  at  any  election  to  be  hereafter  held  in  this  State, 
shall,  on  conviction  in  a  court  of  law,  in  addition  to  the  penalties  now  or  here- 
after to  be  imposed  by  law,  be  forever  disqualified  to  hold  |any  office  of  profit 
or  trust,  or  to  vote  at  any  election  thereafter. 


Mississippi. 


I'ARTICI.E  I. 


Section  18.  No  property  or  educational  [qualification  shall  ever  be  re- 
quired for  any  person  to  become  an  elector. 

Sec.  27.  *  *  *  Any  person  who  shall  hereafter  fight  a  duel,  or  assist 
in  the  same  as  second,  or  send,  accept  or  knowingly  carry  a  challenge  there- 


*Const.  of  Mississippi,  1868.     A  new  Constitution  was  adopted  in  1891,   See 
Appendix. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  95 

for,  or  go  out  of  the  State  to  fight  a  duel,  shall  be  disqualified  from  holding 
any  office  under  this  Constitution,  and  shall  forever  be  disfranchised  in  this 
State. 

ARTlCIvK  IV. 

Section  17.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  of  profit  or  trust, 
nor  shall  he  be  permitted  to  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage  within  this  State, 
who  shall  have  been  convicted  of  bribery,  perjury,  or  other   infamous  crime. 

Sec.  18.  Any  person  who  shall  have  been  convicted  of  giving  or  offering, 
directly  or  indirectly,  any  bribe  to  procure  his  election  or  appointment,  and 
any  person  who  shall  give  or  offer  any  bribe  to  procure  the  election  or  ap- 
pointment of  any  person  to  office,  shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be  disqualified 
from  being  an  elector  or  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the  laws  of 
the  State. 

ARTICIvE;  VII. 

Section  2.  All  male  inhabitants  of  this  State,  except  idiots,  and  insane 
persons,  and  Indians  not  taxed,  citizens  of  the  United  States  or  naturalized, 
twenty-one  years  old  and  upwards,  who  have  resided  in  this  State  six 
months  and  in  the  county  one  month  next  preceding  the  day  of  election,  at 
which  said  inhabitant  offers  to  vote,  and  who  are  duly  registered  according 
to  the  requirements  of  section  three  of  this  article,  and  who  are  not  disquali- 
fied by  reason  of  any  crime,  are  declared  to  be  qualified  electors. 

Sec.  3.     The  I,egislature  shall  provide,  by  law,  for  the  registration  of  all 
persons  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election,  and  all  persons  entitled  to  register 

shall  take  and  subscribe  to  the  following  oath  or  affirmation  :      ''I, 

• ,  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm),  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  that 

I  am  twenty-one  years  old;  that  I  have  resided  in  this  State  six  months,  and 

in county  one  month;  that   I  will  faithfully  support  and  obey  the 

Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  of  Mississippi, 
and  will  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to  the  same.    So  help  me  God." 

Sec.  4.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  of  profit  or  trust,  or  to 
any  office  in  the  militia  of  this  State,  who  is  not  a  qualified  elector. 

Sec.  5.  In  time  of  war,  insurrection,  or  rebellion,  the  right  to  vote  at 
such  place  and  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law,  shall  be  enjoy«d 
by  all  persons  otherwise  entitled  thereto,  who  may  be  in  the  actual  military 
or  naval  service  of  the  United  States,  or  this  State,  provided  said  votes  be 
made  to  apply  in  the  county  or  precinct  wherein  they  reside. 

ARTICI.E  XII. 

Sec  2.  The  I^egislature  shall  pass  laws  to  exclude  from  office  and  from 
suffrage  those  who  shall  hereafter  be  convicted  of  bribery,  perjury,  forgery, 
or  other  high  crimes  or  misdemeanors  ;  and  every  person  shall  be  disquali- 
fied from  holding  any  office,  or  place  of  honor,  profit,   or  trust  und^  the 


96  VOTING   QUAIvIFICATIONS. 

authority  of  this  State,  who  shall  be  convicted  of  having  given  or  oflFered  au|r 
bribe  to  procure  his  election  or  appointment. 


Montana. 

Women  given  the  right  to  vote  at  all  school  district 
elections  and  to  hold  any  school  district  office  and  the 
office  of  County  Superintendent  of  Schools;  also  if  pos- 
sessed of  the  qualifications  for  the  right  of  suffi-age  re- 
quired of  men,  and  are  taxpayers,  have  equally,  with 
men,  the  right  to  vote  on  all  questions  submitted  to  the 
taxpayers  of  the  State. 

*ARTICIvE  IX. 

Section  2.  Hvery  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  or  over, 
possessing  the  following  qualifications,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  general 
elections,  and  for  all  officers  that  now  are,  or  hereafter  may  be,  elective  by  the 
people,  and  upon  all  questions  which  may  be  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the 
people: 

First,  he  shall  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Second,  he  shall  have  resided  in  this  State  one  year  immediately  preced- 
ing the  election  at  which  he  offers  to  vote,  and  in  the  town,  county,  or  pre- 
cinct, such  time  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law:  Provided,  first,  that  no  person 
convicted  of  felony  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  unless  he  has  been  pardoned; 
Provided,  second,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  deprive 
any  person  of  the  right  to  vote  who  has  such  right  at  the  time  of  the  adoption 
of  thisCon.stitution;  Provided,  that  after  the  expiration  of  five  years  from 
the  adoption  of  this  Constitution  no  person  except  citizens  of  the  United 
States  shall  have  the  right  to  vote. 

Sec.  3.  For  the  purpose  of  voting  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  or  lost  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  absence  while  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  nor  while  engaged 
in  the  navigation  of  the  waters  of  the  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  nor  while 
a  student  at  any  institution  of  learning,  nor  while  kept  at  any  almshouse  or 
other  asylum  at  the  public  expense,  nor  while  confined  in  any  public  prison. 

Sec.  6.    No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United 

*Const,  of  Montana,  1889. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  97 

3tates  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  this  State  in  consequence  of  being  sta- 
tioned at  any  military  or  naval  place  within  the  same. 

Sec.  8,  No  idiot  or  insane  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any  electioa 
in  this  State. 

Sec.  9.  The  Legislative  Assembly  shall  have  the  power  to  pass  a  regis- 
tration and  such  other  laws  as  may  be  necessary  to  secure  the  purity  of  elec- 
tions and  guard  against  abuses  of  the  elective  franchise. 

Sec.  10.  Women  shall  be  eligible  to  hold  the  office  of  County  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools  or  any  school  district  office,  and  shall  have  the  right  to 
▼ote  at  any  school  district  election. 

Sec.  II.  Any  person  qualified  to  vote  at  general  elections  and  for  State 
off.cers  in  this  State,  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  therein,  except  as  other- 
wise provided  in  this  Constitution,  and  subject  to  such  additional  qualifica- 
tions as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  for  city  offices  and 
offices  hereafter  created. 

Sec.  12,  Upon  all  questions  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  taxpayers  of  the 
State,  or  any  political  division  thereof,  women  who  are  taxpayers  and  pos- 
sessed of  the  qualifications  for  the  right  of  suffrage  required  of  men  by  this 
Constitution,  shall,  equally,  with  men,  have  the  right  to  vote. 


Nevada. 

♦ARTICLE  II. 

Section  i.  Every  white  (i)  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  (not  labor- 
ing under  the  disabilities  named  in  this  Constitution)  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  and  upwards,  who  shall  have  actually  and  not  constructively  re- 
sided in  the  State  six  months,  and  in  the  district  or  county  thirty  days 
next  preceding  any  election,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  for  all  officers  that  now 
are,  or  hereafter  may  be  elected  by  the  people,  and  upon  all  questions  sub- 
mitted to  the  electors  at  such  election :  Provided,  That  no  person  who  has 
been,  or  may  be  convicted  of  treason  or  felon)'  in  any  State  or  Territory  of 
the  United  States,  unless  restored  to  civil  rights,  and  no  person  who,  after 
arriving  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  shall  have  voluntarily  borne  arms 
against  the  United  States,  or  held  civil  or  military  office  under  the  so-called 
Confederate  States,  or  either  of  them,  unless  an  amnesty  be  granted  to  such 
by  the  Federal  Government,  and  no  idiot  or  insane  person  shall  be  entitled  to 
the  privilege  of  an  elector. 

Sec.  2,  For  the  purpose  of  %'oting,  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  or  lost  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  absence  while  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  nor  while  engaged  in   the  naviga- 

*Const.  of  Nevada,  1864. 

(i)  The  word  "white"  annulled  by  the  XVth  Amendment  to  the  Const,  of 
the  U.S.  


9©  VOTING   QUAI^IFICATIONS. 

tion  of  the  waters  of  the  United  S  tates,  or  of  the  high  seas ;  nor  while  a 
student  of  any  seminary  of  learning ;  nor  while  kept  at  any  almshouse  or 
other  asylum  at  public  expense  ;  nor  while  confined  in  any  public  prison. 

Sec.  3.  The  right  of  suffrage  shall  be  enjoyed  by  all  persons  otherwise 
entitled  to  the  same,  who  may  be  in  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the 
United  States:  Provided,  That  the  votes  so  cast  shall  be  made  to  apply  to 
the  county  and  township  of  which  said  voters  were  bona  fide  residents  at  the 
time  of  their  enli.-,tment:  A>id  provided  further,  That  the  payment  of  a 
poll-tax,  or  a  registration  of  such  votes,  shall  not  be  required  as  a  condition 
to  the  right  of  voting.  Provision  shall  be  made  by  law  regulating  the  man- 
ner of  voting,  holding  elections,  and  making  returns  of  such  elections, 
wherein  other  provisions  are  not  contained  in  this  Constitution, 

Sec.  6.  Provision  shall  be  made  by  law  for  the  registration  of  the  natnes 
of  the  electors  within  the  counties  of  which  they  may  be  residents,  and  for 
ascertainment  by  proper  proof  of  the  persons  who  shall  be  entitled  to  the 
right  of  suffrage,  as  hereby  established  ;  to  preserve  the  purity  of  elections, 
and  to  regulate  the  manner  of  holding  and  making  returns  of  the  same  ;  and 
the  I,egislature  shall  have  power  to  prescribe  by  law  any  other  or  further 
rules  or  oaths  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  as  a  test  of  electoral  qualifica- 
tion. 

Sec.  7.  The  Legislature  shall  provide  by  law  for  the  payment  of  an  annual 
poll-tax  of  not  less  than  two  nor  exceeding  four  dollars  for  each  male  per- 
son resident  in  the  State  between  the  ages  of  twenty-two  and  sixty  years 
(uncivilized  American  Indians  excepted),  one-half  to  be  applied  for  State  and 
one-half  for  county  purposes;  and  the  lyCgislature  may,  in  its  discretion , 
make  such  payment  a  condition  to  the  right  of  voting  (i). 
ARTICI.S  XV. 

Section  3.  *  *  *  ^o  person  who,  while  a  citizen  of  this  State,  has 
since  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  fought  a  duel  with  a  deadly  weapon, 
either  within  or  beyond  the  boundaries  of  this  State,  or  who  has  aided  as  a 
second,  or  knowingly  conveyed  a  challenge,  or  aided  or  assisted  in  any  man- 
ner in  fighting  a  duel,  shall  be  allowed  to  hold  any  oflSce  of  honor, 
profit,  or  trust,  or  enjoy  the  right  of  suffrage  under  this  Constitution.  The 
lyCgislature  shall  provide  by  law  for  giving  force  and  effect  to  this  section. 


New  Jersey. 

*ARTICI.K   II. 
One.— Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  the  age  of  twenty -one 

(i)  The  poll-tax  in  Nevada  is  fixed  by  law  at  $3  ;  but  its  payment,  as  a  con- 
dition precedent  to  voting,  was  repealed  by  the  Legislature  during 
the  session  of  1869. 

♦Const,  of  New  Jersey,  1844,  as  amended  1875. 


VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS.  99 

years,  who  shall  have  been  a  resident  of  this  State  one  year,  and  of  the 
county  in  which  he  claims  his  vote  five  mouths,  next  before  the  election, 
shall  be  entitled  to  vote  for  all  officers  that  now  are,  or  hereafter  may  be, 
elective  by  the  people:  Provided,  That  no  person  in  the  military,  naval,  or 
marine  service  of  the  Unittd  States,  shall  be  considered  a  resident  in  this 
State,  by  being  stationed  in  any  garrison,  barrack,  or  military  or  naval  place 
or  station  within  this  State  ;  and  no  pauper,  idiot,  insane  person,  or  person 
convicted  of  a  crime  which  now  excludes  him  from  being  a  witness,  unless 
pardoned  or  restored  by  law  to  the  right  of  sufirage,  shall  enjoy  the  right  of 
an  elector  ;  and  provided  further,  That  in  time  of  war  no  elector  in  the  actual 
military  service  of  the  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  in  the  Army  or  Navy 
thereof,  shall  be  deprived  of  his  vote  by  reason  of  his  absence  from  such 
election  district ;  and  the  Legislature  shall  have  power  to  provide  the  man- 
ner in  which,  and  time  and  place  at  which,  such  absent  electors  may  vote, 
and  for  the  return  and  canvass  of  their  votes  in  the  election  district  in  which 
they  respectively  reside. 

Two.    The  Legislature  may  pass  laws  to  deprive  persons  of  the  right  of 
suffrage  who  shall  be  convicted  of  bribery. 


Ohio. 


*ARTICLK  V. 

Section  i.  Every  white  (i)  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  who  shall  have  been  a  resident  of  the  State  one  year 
next  preceding  the  election,  and  of  the  county,  township,  or-  ward  in  which 
he  resides  at  such  time  as  may  be  provided  by  law,  shall  have  the  qualifica- 
tions of  an  elector,  and  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elections. 

Sec.  4.  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  power  to  exclude  from  the 
privilege  of  voting,  or  of  being  eligible  to  office,  any  person  convicted  of 
bribery,  perjury,  or  otherwise  infamous  crime. 

Sec.  5.  No  person  in  the  military,  naval,  or  marine  service  of  the  United 
States,  shall,  by  being  stationed  in  any  garrison,  or  military  or  naval  station 
■within  the  State,  be  considered  a  resident  of  the  State. 

Sec.  6.  No  idiot  or  insane  person  shall  be  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  an 
elector. 

*Constitution  of  Ohio,  1851. 

(1)  Annulled  by  the  XVth  Amendt.  to  Fed.  Const. 


lOO  VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

South  Carolina. 

♦ARTICLE  I. 

Section  31.  *  *  *  *  Every  inhabitant  of  this  commonwealth  possess- 
ing the  qualifications  provided  for  in  this  Constitution  shall  have  an  equal 
right  to  elect  officers  and  be  elected  to  fill  public  office. 

Sec.  33.  The  right  of  suffrage  shall  be  protected  by  laws  regulating 
elections,  and  prohibiting  under  adequate  penalties,  all  undue  influences 
from  power,  bribery,  tumult  or  improper  conduct. 

Sec.  34.  *  *  *  No  person  in  this  State  shall  be  disfranchised  *  *  * 
except  by  the  laws  of  the  land  or  the  judgment  of  his  peers. 

Sec.  35.  Temporary  absence  from  this  State  shall  not  forfeit  a  residence 
once  obtained. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

Section  2.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one years  and  upwards,  not  laboring  under  the  disabilities  named  in  the 
Constitution,  without  distinction  of  race,  color,  or  former  condition,  who, 
shall  be  a  resident  of  this  State  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitu- 
tion, or  who  shall  thereafter  reside  in  this  State  one  year,  and  in  the  County 
in  which  he  offers  to  vote  sixty  days  next  preceding  any  election,  shall  be  en- 
titled to  vote  for  all  officers  that  are  now,  or  hereafter  may  be,  elected  by  the 
people,  and  upon  all  questions  submitted  to  the  electors  at  any  elections 
Provided,  That  no  person  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office  who  is  now 
or  hereafter  may  be  disqualified  therefor  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  until  such  disqualification  shall  be  removed  by  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States:  Provided  further,  That  no  person,  while  kept  in  an  alms- 
house or  asylum,  or  of  insane  mind,  or  confined  in  any  public  prison,  shall 
be  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office. 

Sec.  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly  to  provide  from 
time  to  time,  for  the  registration  of  all  electors. 

Sec.  4  For  the  purpose  of  voting,  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have  lost 
his  residence  by  reason  of  absence  while  employed  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  nor  while  engaged  upon  the  waters  of  this  State  or  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  the  high  seas,  nor  while  temporarily  absent  from  the 
State. 

Sec.  5.  No  soldier,  seaman,  or  marine  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the 
United  States,  .shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  this  State  in  consequence  of 
having  been  stationed  therein. 

Sec.  7.  Every  person  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election  shall  be  eligible  to 
any  office  which  now  is,  or  hereafter  shall  be,  elected  by  the  people  in  the 
county  where  he  shall  have  resided  sixty  days  previous  to  such  election,  ex- 

*Constitution  of  South  Carolina,  1868. 


VOTING   QUAI^IFICATIONS.  lOI 

«ept  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  Constitution  or  the  Constitution  of  th« 
©Hited  States. 

Sec.  8.  The  General  Assembly  shall  never  pass  any  laws  that  will  de- 
prive any  of  the  citizens  of  this  State  of  the  right  of  ^uffrage,  except  of 
treason,  murder,  robbery,  or  duelling,  whereof  the  persons  shall  have  been 
duly  tried  and  convicted. 

Sec.  12.  No  person  shall  be  disfranchised  for  felony,  or  other  crimes 
committed  while  such  person  was  a  slave. 


Vermont. 

CHAPTER  I. 

VII.  That  all  elections  ought  to  be  free  and  without  corruption,  and  that 
all  freemen,  having  a  sufficient  evidence,  common  interest  with,  and  attach- 
ment to  the  community,  have  a  right  to  elect  officers  and  be  elected  into  of- 
fice, agreeably  to  the  regulations  made  in  this  Con.stitution. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Section  8.  The  House  of  Representatives  of  the  freemen  of  this  State 
shall  cou.sist  of  persons  most  noted  for  wisdom  and  virtue,  to  be  chosen  by 
ballot,  by  the  freemen  of  every  town  in  this  State,  respectively,  on  the  ist 
Tuesday  in  September,  anmually,  for  ever. 

Sec.  21.  Every  man,  of  the  full  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having  resided 
in  this  State  for  the  space  of  one  whole  year  next  before  the  election  of  Rep- 
resentatives, and  is  of  a  quiet  and  peaceable  behavior,  and  will  take  the  fol- 
lowing oath  or  affirmation,  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  a  freeman 
of  this  State: 

"You  solmenly  swear  [or  affirm],  that  whenever  you  give  your  vote  or 
suffrage  touching  any  matter  that  concerns  the  State  of  Vermont,  you  will  do 
it  so  as  in  your  conscience  you  shall  judge  will  most  conduce  to  the  best  good 
of  the  same,  as  established  by  the  Constitution,  without  fear  or  favor  of  any 
man." 

ARTlCIyE  I.  (I) 

Ko  person  who  is  not  already  a  freeman  of  this  State,  shall  be  entitled  to 
exercise  the  privilege  of  a  freeman,  unless  he  be  a  natural  born  citizen  of  this, 
or  some  one  of  the  United  States,  or  until  he  shall  have  been  naturalized 
agreeably  to  the  acts  of  Congress. 

*Const.  of  Vermont,  1793. 

(1)  Const.  Amendment  adopted  1828. 


I02  VOTING   QUAI^IFICATIONS. 

Washington. 

Untaxed  Indians  forever  barred. 

Women  legal  voters  at  any  school  election. 

*ARTICIvK  VL 

Section  i.  All  male  persons  of  the  age  of  tweiity-oue  years  or  over, 
possessing  the  following  qualifications,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elec- 
tions: 

They  shall  be  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

They  shall  have  lived  in  the  State  one  year  and  in  the  county  ninety  days, 
and  in  the  cit5^  town,  ward  or  precinct  thirty  days  immediately  preceding 
the  election  at  which  they  offer  to  vote. 

Provided,  That  Indians  not  taxed  shall  never  be  allowed  the  elective  fran- 
chise. 

Provided  further,  That  all  male  persons  who,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption 
of  this  Constitution,  are  qualified  electors  of  the  Territory  shall  be  electors  (i). 

Sec.  2.  The  I,egislature  may  provide  that  there  shall  be  no  denial  of  the 
elective  franchise,  at  any  school  election  on  account  of  sex. 

Sec.  3.  All  idiots,  insane  persons,  and  persons  convicted  of  infamous 
crimes,  unless  restored  to  their  civil  rights,  are  excluded  from  the  elective 
franchise. 

Sec.  4.  For  the  purpose  of  voting  and  eligibility  to  ofiice,  no  person  shall 
be  deemed  to  have  gained  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence,  or  lost  it  by 
reason  of  his  absence,  while  in  the  civil  or  military  service  of  the  State  or  of 
the  United  States,  nor  while  a  student  at  any  institution  of  learning,  nor  while 
kept  at  the  public  expense  at  any  poor-house  or  other  asylum,  nor  while  con- 
fined in  public  prison,  nor  while  engaged  in  the  navigation  of  the  waters  of 
this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  high  seas. 

The  following  article  v^hich  vs^as  submitted  separately 
to  the  people  of  Washington  at  the  same  election  as  that 
at  which  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  held  October  i, 
1889,  was  rejected  by  the  electors : 

All  persons,  male  or  female,  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  or  over,  pos- 

*Constitution  of  Washington,  1889. 

(i)  This  provision  gives  the  elective  franchise  to  aliens  who  had  declared 
their  intention  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  before  the  time  of  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution.  See  "Voting  Qualifications  in  the  Territories," 
and  Section  i860  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States. 


VOTING  QUAUFICATIONS.  103 

sessing  the  other  qualifications  provided  by  this  Constitution,  shall  be  en- 
titled to  vote  at  all  elections. 

Woman  was,  therefore,  denied  the  right  of  an  elector 
in  the  State  of  Washington,  but  she  was  subsequently 
given  a  limited  right  to  vote. 

An  act  was  passed  by  the  State  Legislature  and  ap- 
proved March  27,  1890,  which  contains  the  following 
provision: 

Section  58.  Every  person,  male  or  female,  over  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the  school  district  for  thirty  days,  immedi- 
ately preceding  any  school  election,  and  in  the  State  one  year,  and  is  other- 
wise, except  as  to  sex,  qualified  to  vote  at  any  general  election,  shall  be  a 
legal  voter  of  any  school  election,  and  no  other  person  shall  be  allowed  to 
vote. 

And  an  Act  approved  March  28,  1890,  opened  every 
profession  and  calling  to  women  as  to  men,  but  it  de- 
barred them  from  holding  public  office. 


CLASS  II. 

1.  A1.ABAMA,    6.  Louisiana,     ii.  North  Carolina, 

2.  Arkansas,  7.  Michigan,      12.  North  Dakota, 
^  Colorado,    8.  Minnesota,   13.  Oregon, 

4.  Indiana,       9.  Missouri,       14.  South  Dakota, 

5.  Kansas,      10.  Nebraska,     15.  Wisconsin. 
Constitutional   provisions   of   States   whose    qualified 

voters  are  * '  male  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  male 
aliens  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  citi- 
zens." 


I04  VOTING   QUAUFICATIONS. 

Alabama. 

*ARTICI,^   I. 

Section  34.  The  right  of  suffrage  shall  be  protected  by  laws  regulating 
elections,  and  prohibiting,  under  adequate  penalties,  all  undue  influence  from 
power,  bribery,  tumult,  or  other  improper  conduct. 

Section  38.  No  educational  or  property  qualification  for  suffrage  or  of- 
fice, nor  any  restraint  upon  the  same,  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous 
condition  of  servitude,  shall  be  made  by  law. 

ARTlCIvE  VIII. 

Section  i.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  every  male  per- 
son of  foreign  birth  who  may  have  legally  declared  his  intention  to  become 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  before  he  offers  to  vote,  who  is  twenty-one  years 
old  or  upwards,  possessing  the  following  qualifications,  shall  be  an  elector, 
and  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election  by  the  people,  except  as  herein- 
after provided ;. 

ist.  He  shall  have  resided  in  the  State  at  least  one  year  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  election  at  wliich  he  offers  to  vote. 

2d.  He  shall  have  resided  in  the  county  for  three  months,  and  in  the  pre- 
cinct, district,  or  ward  for  thirty  days  immediately  preceding  the  election  at 
which  he  offers  to  vote  :  Provided,  That  the  General  Assembly  may  pre- 
scribe a  longer  or  shorter  residence  in  any  precinct  in  any  count}',  or  in  any 
ward  in  any  incorporated  city  or  town  having  a  population  of  more  than 
5,000  inhabitants,  but  in  no  case  to  exceed  three  mouths:  And  provided.  That 
no  soldier,  sailor,  or  marine  in  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United 
States  shall  acquire  a  residence  by  being  stationed  in  this  State. 

Skc.  3.  The  following  classes  shall  not  be  permitted  to  register,  vote,  or 
hold  office, 

ist.  Those  who  have  been  convicted  of  treason,  embezzlement  of  public 
funds,  malfeasance  in  office,  larceny,  bribery,  or  other  crime  punishable  by 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary. 

2d,     Those  who  are  idiots  or  insane, 

Arkansas. 

fARTICI^K  II, 
Section  26.     No  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  of  any  person  ^s  a 
qualification  to  vote  or  hold  oflSce. 

♦Const,  of  Alabama,  1875. 
fCenst.  of  Arkansas,  1874. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  105 

ARTICI^E  III. 

Section  1.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  male  person  who 
has  declared  his  intention  of  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  same,  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  who  has  resided  in  the  State  twelve  months,  and  in  the 
county  six  months,  and  in  the  voting  precinct  or  ward  one  month,  next  pre- 
ceding any  election,  where  he  may  propose  to  vote,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote 
at  all  elections  by  the  people. 

Sec.  5.  No  idiot  or  insane  person  shall  be  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  an 
elector, 

Sec.  6.  Any  person  who  shall  be  convicted  of  fraud,  bribery,  or  other 
wilful  and  corrupt  violation  of  any  election  law  of  this  State,  shall  be  adjudged 
guilty  of  a  felony,  and  disqualified  from  holding  any  office  of  trust  or  profit 
in  the  State. 

Sec.  7.  No  soldier,  sailor,  or  marine,  in  the  military  or  naval  service  of 
the  United  States,  shall  acquire  a  residence  by  reason  of  being  stationed  on 
duty  in  this  State. 

article:  V. 

Section  9.  No  person  hereafter  convicted  of  embezzlement  of  public 
money,  bribery,  forgery,  or  other  infamous  crime,  shall  be  eligible  to  the 
General  Assembly,  or  capable  of  holding  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  in  this 
State. 

ARTICLE  XIX. 

Section  i.  No  person  who  denies  the  being  of  a  God  shall  hold  any  of- 
fice in  the  civil  departments  of  this  State,  nor  be  competent  to  testify  as  a 
witness  in  any  court. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  who  may  hereafter  fight  a  duel,  assist  in  the  same  as  a 
second,  or  send,  accept,  or  knowingly  carry  a  challenge  therefor,  shall  hold 
any  office  in  the  State  for  a  period  of  ten  years;  and  may  be  otherwise  pun- 
ished as  the  law  may  prescribe. 

Sec.  3.  No  person  shall  be  elected  to  or  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy  in 
any  office  w^ho  does  not  possess  the  qualifications  of  an  elector. 


Colorado. 

Women  are  entitled  to  vote  at  school  district  elections. 


I06  VOTING    QUAI^IPICATIONS. 

Felons  who  have  served  their  full  term  of  imprison- 
ment restored  to  the  rights  of  citizenship. 

♦ARTICLE  VII. 

Section  i.  Every  male  person  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  possess- 
ing the  following  qualifications,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elections  : 

I  St.  He  shall  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or,  not  being  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  he  shall  have  declared  his  intention,  according  to  law,  to 
become  such  citizen,  not  less  than  four  months  before  he  offers  to  vote, 

2d.  He  shall  have  resided  in  the  State  six  mouths  immediately  preceding 
the  election  at  which  he  offers  to  vote,  and  in  the  county,  city,  town,  ward,  or 
precinct,  such  time  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law:  Provided,  That  no  person 
shall  be  denied  the  right  to  vote  at  any  school  district  election,  nor  to  hold 
any  school  district  office,  on  account  of  sex. 

Sec.  2.  The  General  Assembly  shall,  at  the  first  session  thereof,  or  may 
at  any  subsequent  session,  enact  laws  to  extend  the  right  of  .suffrage  to 
women  of  lawful  age,  and  otherwise  qualified  according  to  the  provisions  of 
this  article.  No  such  enactmeut  shall  be  of  effect  until  submitted  to  the  vote 
of  the  qualified  electors  at  a  general  election,  nor  unless  the  same  be  ap- 
proved oy  a  majority  of  those  voting  thereon. 

Sec.  3,  The  General  Assembly  may  prescribe,  by  law,  an  educational  quali- 
fication for  electors,  but  no  such  law  shall  take  effect  prior  to  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety,  and  no  qualified  elector  shall 
be  thereby  disqualified. 

Sec.  4.  For  the  purpose  of  voting  and  eligibility  to  office,  no  person 
shall  be  deemed  to  have  gained  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence,  or 
lost  it  by  reason  of  his  absence,  while  in  the  civil  or  military  service  of  the 
State,  or  of  the  United  States,  nor  while  a  student  at  any  institution  of  learn- 
ing, nor  while  kept  at  public  expense  in  any  poor-house  or  other  asylum,  nor 
while  confined  in  public  prison. 

Sec.  6.  No  person  except  a  qualified  elector  shall  be  elected  or  appointed 
to  any  civil  or  military  office  in  the  State. 

Sec.  10.  No  person  while  confined  in  any  public  prison  shall  be  entitled 
to  vote  ;  but  every  svich  person  who  was  a  qualified  elector  prior  to  such  im- 
prisonment, and  who  is  relea  ed  therefrom  by  virtue  of  a  pardon,  or  by  virtue 
of  having  served  his  full  term  of  imprisonment,  shall,  without  further  action, 
be  invested  with  all  the  rights  of  citizen  ship,  except  as  otherwise  provided  for 
in  this  Constitution. 

[The  exception  noted  relates  to  depriving  those  who 
have  participated  as  principals  or  assistants  in  a  duel, 

*Const.  of  Colorado,  1876. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  IO7 

and  those  who  have  been  convicted  of  embezzling  public 
money,  briber}^,  perjur}^  solicitation  of  bribery,  or  subor- 
nation of  perjury,  of  eligibility  to  the  General  Assembly 
and  of  the  right  of  holding  any  oflSce  of  trust  or  profit  in 
the  State.] 


Indiana. 

*ARTICI.E  II. 

Section  2.  In  all  elections  not  otherwise  provided  for  by  this  Constitu- 
tion, every  white  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years  and  upwards,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the  State  during  the  six  months 
immediately  preceding  such  election,  and  every  white  male  of  foreign  birth, 
of  the  age  of  twenty- one  years  and  upwards,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the 
United  States  one  year,  and  shall  have  resided  in  this  State  during  the  six 
months  immediately  preceding  such  election,  and  shall  have  declared  his  in- 
tention to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  conformably  to  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  on  the  subject  of  naturalization,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  in 
the  township  or  precinct  where  he  may  reside. 

Sec.  3.  No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  their  allies,  shall  be  deemed  to  have  acquired  a  residence  in  the 
State,  in  consequence  of  having  been  stationed  within  the  same  ;  nor  shall 
any  such  soldier,  seaman,  or  marine  have  the  right  to  vote. 

Sec.  4.  No  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have  lost  his  residence  in  the 
State  by  reason  of  his  absence,  either  on  business  of  this  State  or  of  the 
United  States. 

Sec.  5.     No  negro  or  mulatto  shall  have  the  right  of  suffrage  (i). 

Sec.  7.  Every  person  who  shall  give  or  accept  a  challenge  to  .fight  a 
duel,  or  who  shall  knowingly  carry  to  another  person  such  challenge,  or  who 
shall  agree  to  go  out  of  the  State  to  fight  a  duel,  shall  be  ineligible  to  any  of- 
fice of  trust  or  profit. 

Sec  .  8.  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  power  to  deprive  of  the  right 
of  suffrage,  and  to  render  ineligible,  any  person  convicted  of  an  infamous 
crime. 

Const,  of  Indiana,  1851 . 

(i)  Annulled  by  the  XlVth  and  XVth  amendments  to  the  Federal  Consti- 
tution. 


Io8  VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

Kansas. 

♦ARTICLB    V. 

Section  i.  Every  white  (i)  male  person,  of  twenty-one  years  and  up- 
wards, belonging  to  either  of  the  following  classes,  who  shall  have  resided 
in  Kansas  six  months  next  preceding  such  election,  and  in  the  township 
or  ward  in  which  he  offers  to  vote  at  least  thirty  days  next  preceding  such  elec- 
tion, shall  be  deemed  a  qualified  elector  : 

First— Citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Second— Persons  of  foreign  birth  who  shall  have  declared  their  intention 
to  become  citizens  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  on  the  sub- 
ject of  naturalization. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  under  guardianship,  non  compos  mentis  or  insane  ;  no 
person  convicted  of  felony,  unless  restored  to  civil  rights  ;  no  person  who  has 
been  dishonorably  discharged,  from  the  service  of  the  United  States,  unless  re- 
instated ;  no  person  guilty  of  defrauding  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
or  of  any  of  the  States  thereof;  no  person  guilty  of  giving  or  receiving  a 
bribe,  or  offering  to  give  or  receive  a  bribe  ;  and  no  person  -tvho  has  ever  vol- 
untarily borne  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any 
manner  voluntarily  aided  or  abetted  in  the  attempted  overthrow  of  said 
Government,  except  all  persons  who  have  been  honorably  discharged  from 
the  military  service  of  the  United  States  since  the  i.st  of  April,  A.  D.  1861, 
provided  that  they  have  served  one  year  or  more  therein,  shall  be  qualified  to 
vote  or  hold  office  in  this  State,  until  such  disability  shall  be  removed  by  a  law 
passed  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  all  the  members  of  both  branches  of  the 
lyCgislature  (2). 

Sec.  3.  For  the  purpose  of  voting,  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  or  lost  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  absence  while  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  nor  while  engaged  in  the  naviga- 
of  the  waters  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  or  the  high  seas,  nor 
while  a  student  in  any  seminary  of  learning,  nor  while  kept  at  any  alms- 
house or  other  asylum  at  public  expense,  nor  while  confined  in  any  public 
prison  ;  and  the  I,egislature  may  make  provisions  for  taking  the  votes  of 
electors  who  may  be  absent  from  their  township  or  wards  in  the  volunteer 
militarj-^  service  of  the  United  States,  or  the  militia  service  of  this  State  ; 
but  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  deemed  to  allow  any  soldier,  seaman, 
or  marine  in  the  Regular  Army  or  Navy  of  the  United  States  the  right  to 
vote  (3). 

*Con.st.  of  Kansas,  1859. 

(i)  Annulled  by  the  XlVth  and  XVth  amendments  to  the  Federal  Const. 
'     (2)  Constitutional  Amendment  ratified  in  1867. 
(3)  Constitutional  Amendment  ratified  in  1864. 


VOTING   QUAWFICATIONS.  IO9 

Sec.  3.  No  soldier,  seaman,  or  marine  in  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  their  allies,  shall  be  deemed  to  have  acquired  a  residence  in  the 
State,  in  consequence  of  being  stationed  within  the  same ;  nor  shall  any 
soldier,  seaman,  or  marine  have  the  right  to  vote. 

Sec.  4.  The  IvCgislature  shall  pass  such  laws  as  may  be  necessary  for 
ascertaining  by  proper  proofs  the  citizens  who  shall  be  entitled  to  the  right 
of  suffrage  hereby  established. 


^Louisiana. 

Article  148.— No  person  shall  hold  any  ofl&ce,  State,  parochial  or  munici- 
pal, or  shall  be  permitted  to  vote  at  any  election,  or  act  as  a  juror,  who,  in  due 
course  of  law,  shall  have  been  convicted  of  treason,  perjury,  forgery,  bribery 
or  other  crime  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary,  or  who  shall 
be  under  interdiction. 

Art.  164. — No  .soldier,  sailor  or  marine  in  the  military  or  naval  service  of 
the  United  States,  shall  hereafter  acquire  a  domicile  in  this  State  by  reason 
of  being  stationed  or  doing  duty  in  the  same. 

Art.  185.— Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  every  male  per- 
son of  foreign  birth  who  has  been  naturalized  or  who  may  have  legally  de- 
clared his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  before  he  offers 
to  vote,  who  is  twenty-one  years  old  or  upwards,  possessing  the  following 
qualifications,  shall  be  an  elector  and  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election 
by  the  people,  except  as  hereinafter  provided: 

First— He  shall  be  an  actual  resident  of  the  State  at  least  one  year  next 
preceding  the  election  at  which  he  offers  to  vote. 

Second— He  shall  be  an  actual  resident  of  the  parish  in  which  he  offers  to 
vote  at  least  six  months  next  preceding  the  election. 

Third— He  shall  be  an  actual  resident  of  the  ward  or  precinct  in  which  he 
offers  to  vote  at  least  thirty  days  next  preceding  the  election. 

Art.  187.— The  following  persons  shall  not  be  permitted  to  register,  vote 
or  hold  any  office  or  appointment  of  honor,  profit  or  trust  in  this  State,  to  wit: 

Those  who  have  been  convicted  of  treason,  embezzlement  of  public  funds, 
malfeasance  in  office,  larceny,  bribery,  illegal  voting  or  other  crime  punish- 
able b}'  hard  labor  in  the  penitentiary,  idiots  and  insane  persons. 

Art.  i88.~No  qualification  of  any  kind  for  suffrage  or  office,  nor  any  re- 
straint upon  the  same,  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  shall 
be  made  by  law. 

Art.  193.— For  the  purpose  of  voting  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 

♦Const,  of  Louisiana,  1879. 


no  VOTING    QUALIFICATIONS. 

gained  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence,  or  lost  it  by  reason  of  his  ab- 
sence, while  employed  in  the  service,  either  civil  or  military,  of  this  State  or 
of  the  United  States  ;  nor  while  engaged  in  the  navigation  of  the  waters  of  the 
State  or  the  United  States,  or  of  the  high  seas,  nor  while  a  student  of  any  in- 
stitution of  learning. 

Art.  195. — No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office.  State,  judicial,  paro- 
chial, municipal  or  ward,  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  this  State,  and  a  duly  qualified 
elector  of  the  State,  judicial  district,  parish,  municipality  or  ward  wherein 
the  functions  of  said  office  are  to  be  exercised.  And  whenever  any  officer. 
State,  judicial,  parochial,  municipal  or  ward,  may  change  his  residence  from 
this  State,  or  from  the  district,  parish,  municipality  or  ward  in  which  he 
holds  such  office,  the  same  shall  thereby  be  vacated,  any  declaration  of  inten- 
tion of  domicile  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 


Michigan. 
Civilized  Indians,  not  members  of  tribes,  are  electors. 

*ARTICI.^  VII. 

Sec.  I.  In  all  elections,  every  male  citizen,  every  male  inhabitant,  residing 
in  the  State  on  the  24th  day  of  June,  1835  ;  every  male  inhabitant  residing  in 
the  State  on  the  1st  of  January,  1850,  who  has  declared  his  intention  to  be- 
come a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  pursuant  to  the  laws  thereof,  .six  months 
preceding  an  election,  or  .who  has  resided  in  this  State  two  years  and  six 
months,  and  declared  his  intention  as  aforesaid ;  and  every  civilized  male  in- 
habitant of  Indian  descent,  a  native  of  the  United  States  and  not  a  member 
of  any  tribe,  shall  be  an  elector  and  entitled  to  vote  ;  but  no  citizen  or  inhab- 
itant shall  be  an  elector  or  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election,  unless  he  shall  be 
above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  has  resided  in  this  State  three  months, 
and  in  the  township  or  ward  in  which  he  offers  to  vote  ten  days,  next  preced- 
ing such  election:  Provided,  That  in  time  of  war,  insurrection,  or  rebellion, 
no  qualified  elector  in  the  actual  military  service  of  the  United  States  or  of 
this  State,  in  the  Army  or  Navy  thereof,  shall  be  deprived  of  his  vote  by  rea- 
son of  his  absence  from  the  township,  ward,  or  State  in  which  he  resides ;  and 
the  I^egi=lature  shall  have  the  power,  and  shall  provide  the  manner  in  which 
and  the  time  and  place  at  which  such  absent  electors  may  vote,  and  for  the 
canvass  and  return  of  their  votes  to  the  township  or  ward  election-district  in 
which  they  respectively  reside,  or  otherwise. 

Sec.  5.     No  elector  shall  be  deemed  to  have  gained  or  lost  a  residence  by 

*Const.  of  Michigan,  1850,  as  amended,  r87o. 


VOTING   QUAI.IFICATIONS.  Ill 

reason  of  his  being  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  or  of  this 
State  ;  nor  while  engaged  in  the  navigation  of  the  waters  of  this  State  or  of 
the  United  States,  or  of  the  high  seas  ;  nor  while  a  student  of  any  seminary 
of  learning  ;  nor  while  kept  at  any  alms-house  or  other  asylum  at  public  ex- 
pense ;  nor  while  confined  in  any  public  prison. 

Sec.  7.  No  soldier,  seaman,  nor  marine,  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the 
United  States,  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  this  State  in  consequence  of  be- 
ing stationed  in  any  military  or  naval  place  within  the  same^. 

Sec.  8.  Any  inhabitant  who  may  hereafter  be  engaged  in  a  duel,  either 
as  principal  or  accessory  before  the  fact,  shall  be  disqualified  from  holding 
any  office  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  this  State,  and  shall  not  be  per- 
mitted to  vote  at  any  election. 


Minnesota.  • 

Civilized  Indians  admitted  to  State  citizenship  and  the 
right  of  suffrage. 

♦ARTICLE    VII. 

Section  i.  Every  male  i)erson  of  the  age  of  twenty-years  or  upwards,  be- 
longing to  either  of  the  following  classes,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the 
United  States  one  year,  and  in  this  State  for  four  months  next  preceding 
any  election,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  such  election,  in  the  election  district 
of  which  he  shall,  at  the  time,  have  been  for  ten  days  a  resident,  for  all 
officers  that  now  are,  or  hereafter  may  be,  elective  by  the  people  : 

First— Citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Second— Persons  of  foreign  birth,  who  shall  have  declared  their  inten- 
tion to  become  citizens,  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  upon 
the  subject  of  naturalization. 

Third— Persons  of  mixed  white  and  Indian  blood,  who  have  adopted  the 
customs  and  habits  of  civilization. 

Fourth— Persons  of  Indian  blood  residing  in  the  State,  who  have  adopted 
the  language,  customs  and  habits  of  civilization,  after  an  examination  before 
any  district  court  of  the  State,  in  such  manner  as  may  be  provided  by  law,  and 
shall  have  been  pronounced  by  said  court  capable  of  enjoying  the  rights  of 
citizenship  within  the  State. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  not  belonging  to  one  of  the  classes  specified  in  the 
preceding  section  ;  no  person  who  has  been  convicted  of  treason  or  any  felony, 
unless  restored  to  civil  rights,  and  no  person  under  guardianship,  or  who 

*Const.  of  Minnesota,  1857,  as  amended,  1868 


112  VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS. 

may  be  non  compos  mentis,  or  insane,  shall  be  entitled  or  permitted  to  vote  at 
any  election  in  this  State. 

Skc.  3.  For  the  purposes  of  voting,  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
lost  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  absence  vv^hile  employed  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States  ;  nor  w^hile  engaged  upon  the  waters  of  the  State,  or  of  the 
United  States  ;  nor  while  a  student  of  any  seminary  of  learning ;  nor  while 
kept  in  any  almshouse  or  asylum  ;  nor  while  confined  in  any  public  prison. 

Sec.  4.  No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  the  State  in  consequence  of  being  sta- 
tioned within  the  same. 

Sec.  7.  Every  person  who,  by  the  provisions  of  this  article,  shall  be  en- 
titled to  vote  at  any  election,  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  which  now  is,  or 
hereafter  shall  be,  elective  by  the  people  in  the  district  wherein  he  shall  have 
resided  thirty  days  previous  to  such  election,  except  as  otherwise  provided  in 
this  Constitution,  or  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  8.  The  Legislature  may,  notwithstanding  anything  in  this  article, 
provide  by  law  that  any  woman  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upward 
may  vote  at  any  election  held  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  any  officers  of 
schools,  or  upon  any  measure  relating  to  schools,  and  may  also  provide  that 
any  such  woman  shall  be  eligible  to  hold  any  office  pertaining  solely  to  the 
management  of  schools. 


Missouri. 

*article;  VIII. 

Section  2.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  every  male 
person  of  foreign  birth,  who  may  have  declared  his  intention  to  become  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  according  to  law,  not  less  than  one  year  nor 
more  than  five  years  before  he  offers  to  vote,  who  is  over  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  possessing  the  following  qualifications,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at 
all  elections  by  the  people : 

First— He  shall  have  resided  in  the  State  one  year  immediately  preceding 
the  election  at  which  he  offers  to  vote. 

Second— He  shall  have  resided  in  the  county,  city,  or  town  where  he 
shall  offer  to  vote  at  least  sixty  days  immediately  preceding  the  election. 

Sec.  7.  For  the  purpose  of  voting,  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence,  or  lost  it  by  reason  of  his  ab- 
sence, while  employed  in  the  service,  either  civil  or  military,  of  the  United 
States  ;  nor  while  engaged  in  the  navigation  of  the  waters  of  the  State,  or  of 

*Const.  of  Missouri,  1875. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  II3 

the  United  States,  or  of  the  high  seas  ;  nor  while  a  student  of  any  institution 
-of  learning ;  nor  while  kept  at  any  poor-house  or  other  asylum  at  public 
■expense  ;  nor  while  confined  in  public  prison. 

Sec.  8.  No  person,  while  kept  at  any  poor-house  or  other  asylum,  at 
public  expense,  nor  while  confined  in  any  public  prison,  shall  be  entitled  to 
vote  at  any  election  under  the  laws  of  the  State. 

Sec.  10.  The  General  Assembly  may  enact  laws  excluding  from  the 
right  of  voting  all  persons  convicted  of  felony  or,  other  infamous  crime,  of 
misdemeanors  connected  with  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage. 

Sec.  II.  No  officer,  soldier  (i)  or  marine  in  the  Regular  Army  or  Navy  or 
the  United  States  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election  in  this  State! 


Nebraska. 

*ARTlCIvE  VII. 

Section  i.  Every  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  or  upwards, 
belonging  to. either  of  the  following  classes,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the 
State  six  months  and  in  the  county,  precinct  or  ward  for  the  term  provided  by 
law,  shall  be  an  elector  : 

First— Citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Second— Persons  of  foreign  birth  who  shall  have  declared  their  intention 
to  become  citizens,  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  on  the  sub- 
ject of  naturalization,  at  least  thirty  days  prior  to  an  election. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  shall  be  qualified  to  vote  who  is  non  compos  mentis,  or 
who  has  been  convicted  of  treason  or  felony  under  the  laws  of  the  State,  or  of 
the  United  States,  unless  restored  to  civil  rights. 

Sec.  3.  Every  elector  in  the  actual  military  service  of  the  United  States, 
or  of  this  State,  and  not  in  the  Regular  Army,  may  exercise  the  right  of  suf- 
frage at  such  place  and  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  provided  by  law. 

Sec  .  4.  No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  the  State  in  consequence  of  being  sta- 
tioned therein . 

An  act  of  Congress  passed  in  1864  authorized  ''the 
inhabitants  ' '  of  that  portion  of  the  Territory  of  Nebraska 

(i)  In  all  other  state  Constitutions  containing  this  prohibitory  provision, 
seamen  in  the  naval  service  of  the  United  States  have  been  included  among 
those  debarred  from  voting.  But  naval  seamen  seem  to  have  escaped  the 
notice  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  ot  Missouri  ;  and,  in  consequence, 
an  ordinary  seaman  employed  in  the  United  States  navy  may,  if  he  be  other- 
wise qualified,  exercise  the  elective  franchise  i  ■•  that  State,  although  naval 
officers  and  marines  are  specially  proliibited  from  voting. 

♦Constitution  of  Nebraska,  1875. 


114  VOTING   QUA1.IFICATIONS. 

now  represented  in  the  State  of  Nebraska  ' '  to  form  for 
themselves  a  Constitution  and  State  government,  the  State 
thus  formed  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union  on  an  equal 
footing  with  the  original  States."  The  Constitution  which 
these  "inhabitants"  formed  in  1866-67  made  electors  of 
'  *  white  persons  of  foreign  birth  who  shall  have  declared 
their  intention  to  become  citizens  conformable  to  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  on  the  subject  of  naturalization." 
The  Act  of  Admission  passed  by  Congress  in  1867  ap- 
proved this  Constitution,  excepting  so  much  of  it  as  re- 
lated to  a  race  distinction  in  the  exercise  of  the  elective 
franchise,  and  provided  that  the  act  should  be  inoperative 
until  the  State  I^egislature  in  first  session  convened  should 
change  the  fundamental  condition  so  that  within  the  State 
of  Nebraska  *  *  there  shall  be  no  denial  of  the  elective 
franchise,  or  of  any  other  right,  to  any  person,  by  rea- 
son of  race  or  color,  excepting  Indians  not  taxed."  The 
State  Legislature  complied  with  this  condition  of  Con- 
gress, and  Nebraska  entered  the  Union  "  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing with  the  original  States  in  all  respects  whatever." 

In  all  of  the  Territories  at  the  time  of  their  conversion 
into  States,  there  have  been  alien  inhabitants  exercising 
the  rights  of  electors.  The  political  status  of  these 
aliens  as  members  of  the  new  State  has  been  defined  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  a  decision  ren- 
dered February  i,  1892,  in  the  case  of  Thayer  vs.  Boyd 
— an  appeal  from  the  Supreme  Court  of  Nebraska  affect- 
ing the  Governorship  of  that  State  growing  out  of  the 
election  of  Boyd,  a  person  of  foreign  birth,  to  that  office. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  II 5 

Reference  has  been  made  to  this  case  already  (see  note  on 
page  36).  Two  points  of  great  interest  and  importance 
relating  to  the  admission  of  persons  of  foreign  birth  to 
Federal  citizenship,  are  settled  in  this  decision,  namely  : 
First — That  a  technical  compliance  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  laws  adopted  by  Congress  for  ' '  an  uniform 
rule  of  naturalization  "  is  not  absolutely  essential,  but 
there  may  be  occasion  when  an  equivalent  in  lieu  thereof 
may  be  accepted. 

Second — That  Federal  citizenship  is  conferred  upon 
^uch  alien  inhabitants  of  a  Territory  admitted  to  State- 
hood as  come  under  the  operation  of  the  provisions  of 
the  Enabling  Act,  the  State  Constitution  and  the  Act  of 
Admission,  without  regard  for  the  requirements  of  the 
naturalization  laws,  these  acts  constituting  a  collective 
naturalization  of  all  alien  inhabitants  of  the  Territor3^ 
The  opinion  in  this  case  was  written  by  Chief  Justice 
Fuller  and  w^as  concurred  in  by  the  majority  of  the  court. 
The  court  held  that  the  Enabling  Act  of  Nebraska  con- 
stituted the  collective  naturalization  of  all  the  inhabitants' 
thereof  at  the  time  of  its  admission  into  the  Union,  ex- 
cept such  as  announced  that  they  intended  to  retain  their 
rights  as  citizens  or  subjects  of  a  foreign  nation,  and  that 
the  various  offices  held  by  Boyd  and  the  exercise  of  the 
right  of  suffrage  by  him.,  with  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to 
the  United  States  he  took  at  various  times,  show  clearly 
that  it  was  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  that,  in  fact,  he  so  considered  himself. 

The  opinion  may  be  thus  summarized  :      On  January 


Il6  VOTING    QUALIFICATIONS. 

13,  1 891,  leave  was  granted  to  John  M.  Thayer  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Nebraska  to  file  proceedings  looking 
to  ousting  Boyd  from  the  office  of  Governor  of  Nebraska. 
The  point  raised  in  the  information  filed  by  Thayer  is 
that  Boyd's  father,  although  he  had  declared  his  inten- 
tion to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  and  for  years 
exercised  unquestioned,  in  Ohio,  the  rights  of  voting  and 
holding  office,  had,  in  fact,  never  taken  out  his  final 
naturalization  papers,  and  was,  therefore,  not  a  citizen  ; 
and  that  as  James  E.  Boyd  himself  never  had  been  natur- 
alized, but  voted  and  held  office  under  the  belief  that  his 
father  had  become  a  naturalized  citizen  while  he  was  a 
minor,  he  was,  under  the  Constitution,  not  a  citizen,  and, 
therefore,  was  not  eligible  to  the  office  of  Governor  of 
Nebraska.  The  State  Constitution  requires  the  Gover- 
nor shall  be  a  citizen  of  the  State  for  at  least  two  years 
preceding  his  election. 

Boyd,  in  his  reply,  claimed  that  the  Enabling 
Act  of  Nebraska  constituted  the  collective  natural- 
ization of  all  its  inhabitants  at  the  time  of  admission 
to  Statehood,  and  also  asserted  that  his  father  had  in  1854 
taken  out  his  first  naturalization  papers,  although  the 
record  did  not  show  such  fact. 

After  disposing  of  Thayer's  right  to  bring  suit  against 
Boyd,  the  court  says  it  understands  it  is  insisted  that 
Boyd  was  an  alien  because  his  disabilities  as  a  foreign- 
born  citizen  had  never  been  removed  by  naturalization. 
Congress,  it  adds,  in  the  exercise  of  the  power  to  estab- 
lish an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  has  enacted  general 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  II 7 

laws  for  the  naturalization  of  individuals,  but  that  in- 
stances of  collective  naturalization  by  treaty  or  statute 
are  numerous.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  ad- 
mission of  a  State  collective  naturalization  may  be  effected 
in  accordance  with  the  intention  of  Congress  and  the  peo- 
ple applying  for  admission.  The  admission  "  on  an  equal 
footing  with  the  original  States,  in  all  respects  what- 
ever, ' '  involves  the  adoption  as  citizens  by  the  United 
States  of  those  whom  Congress  makes  members  of  the 
political  community,  and  who  are  recognized  as  such  in 
the  formation  of  the  new  State  with  the  consent  of  Con- 
gress. The  question  is  not  what  the  State  may  do  in  re- 
spect to  citizenship,  but  what  Congress  may  recognize  in 
that  regard  in  the  formation  of  a  State,  The  application 
of  this  doctrine  is  then  made  to  the  case  of  the  State  of 
Nebraska  and  its  various  proceedings  looking  to  admis- 
sion considered.  One  clause  of  the  State  Constitution 
adopted  provided  that  ' '  white  persons  of  foreign  birth 
who  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens ' '  should 
be  considered  electors,  and  this  Congress  amended  by  de- 
claring it  should  not  operate  as  a  discrimination  on  ac- 
count of  color.  These  provisions,  in  connection  with 
Section  14  of  the  same  State  Constitution,  that  no  dis- 
tinction shall  ever  be  made  by  law  between  resident  aliens 
and  citizens  in  reference  to  property,  seems  to  the  court 
the  clear  recognition  of  a  distinction  between  those  who 
had  and  those  who  had  not  elected  to  become  aliens.  It 
follows  from  this  that  all  who  declared  their  inten- 
tion to  become  citizens,  Congress  so  regarded,  and  placed 


Il8  VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

those  whose  naturalization  was  incomplete  in  the  same 
category  with  persons  already  citizens.  But  it  is  argued 
that  James  Boyd  never  declared  his  intention  to  become 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  although  his  father  had, 
and  that,  because,  as  alleged,  his  father  had  not  completed 
his  naturalization  before  his  son  attained  his  majority, 
the  latter  cannot  be  held  to  have  been  made  a  citizen  by 
the  Admission  Act  of  Nebraska.  The  statutes,  it  says, 
leave  much  to  be  desired  with  reference  to  nationality 
laws  and  the  status  of  minors  whose  parents  declare  their 
intention,  but  do  not  take  out  final  papers  before  their 
children  reach  21  years  of  age.  Clearly  minors,  the  court 
says,  acquire  inchoate  status  b}^  the  declaration  of  inten- 
tion on  the  part  of  their  parents.  If  they  attain  major- 
ity before  the  parents  complete  naturalization  they  have 
the  right  to  repudiate  the  status  and  accept  foreign  allegi- 
ance rather  than  hold  fast  to  a  citizenship  which  the  pa- 
rents' act  initiated  for  them.  Ordinarily,  a  minor 
makes  application  on  his  own  behalf  for  naturalization, 
but  it  does  not  follow  the  equivalent  may  not  on  oc- 
casion be  accepted  in  lieu  of  a  technical  compliance. 

The  history  of  Boyd  is  then  traced,  of  his  voting  in 
Ohio  in  1855,  under  the  belief  and  assurance  from  his 
father  that  he  (the  father)  had  taken  out  his  final  papers. 
Then  his  long  career  in  Nebraska  as  a  voter,  an  office- 
holder and  soldier  against  the  Indians,  is  cited,  showing 
that  for  over  thirty  years  he  enjoyed  all  the  rights  of 
citizenship.  Under  the  circumstances  James  E.  Boyd, 
the  court  says,  is  entitled  to  claim,  if  his  father  did  not 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  II 9 

complete  his  naturalization  before  his  son  had  attained  a 
majority,  that  the  son  cannot  be  held  to  have  occupied 
the  inchoate  status  he  acquired  b}^  a  declaration  of  inten- 
tion. On  the  contrary,  the  oaths  taken  and  his  action 
as  a  citizen,  entitled  him  to  insist  upon  the  benefit  of  his 
father's  act,  and  in  being  placed  in  the  same  category  as  his 
father  would  have  occupied  if  he  had  emigrated  to  the 
Territory  of  Nebraska  ;  that,  in  short,  he  was,  within  the 
intent  and  meaning  of  the  acts  of  Congress  in  relation  to 
citizens,  a  citizen  of  the  Territory,  and  was  made  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  of  Nebraska  under 
the  organic  and  enabling  acts  and  by  the  act  of  admission. 


North  Carolina. 

*ARTICIvE  J,] 

Section  22.  As  political  rights  and  privileges  are  not  dependent  upon,  or 
modified  by  property,  therefore  no  qualification  ought  to  afiect  the  right  to 
hold  office. 

ARTICI^E  VI. 

Section  i.  p:;very  male  person  born  in  the  United  States,  and  every  male 
person  who  has  been  naturalized,  twenty-one  years  old  or  upward,  who  shall 
have  resided  in  the  State  twelve  mouths  next  preceding  the  election,  and 
ninety  days  in  the  count}'  in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  shall  be  deemed  an  elec- 
tor. But  no  person  who,  upon  conviction  or  confession  in  open  court,  shall  be 
adjudged  guilty  of  felony,  or  of  any  other  crime  infamous  by  the  laws  of  this 
state,  and  hereafter  committed  (1),  shall  be  deemed  an  elector,  unless  such 
per-on  shall  be  restored  to  the  rights  of  citizenship  in  a  manner  prescribed  by 
law. 

Sec.  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly  to  provide,  from 
time  to  time,  for  the  registration  of  all  electors ;  and  no  person  shall  be  al- 

*Constitution  of  North  Carolina,  1876. 
(i)  z.  e.,  after  January  i,  1877. 


I20  VOTING   QUAI.IFICATIONS. 

lowed  to  vote  without  registration,  or  to  register  without  first  taking  an  oath 
or  affirmation  to  support  and  maintain  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  North  Carolina  not  inconsistent 
therewith. 

Sec.  4.  Every  voter,  except  as  hereinafter  provided,  shall  be  eligible  to 
office  .*    *    *    * 

Skc.  5.     The  following  classes  of  persons  shall  be  disqualified  from  office  : 

First— All  persons  who  shall  deny  the  being  of  Almighty  God. 

Second— All  persons  who  shall  have  been  convicted  of  treason,  perjury,  or 
any  other  infamous  crime,  since  becoming  citizens  ot  the  United  States,  or  of 
corruption  or  malpractice  in  office,  unless  such  person  shall  have  been  legally 
restored  to  the  rights  of  citizenship. 


North  Dakota. 

Civilized  descendants  of  Indians  granted  the  right  to 
vote. 

Women  permitted  to  vote  at  school  elections. 

*ARTICI,IC  V. 

Section  121.  Every  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  up- 
wards, belonging  to  either  of  the  following  classes,  who  shall  have  resided  in 
the  State  one  year,  in  the  county  six  months,  and  in  the  precinct  ninety 
days  next  preceding  any  election,  shall  be  deemed  a  qualified  elector  at  such 
election  : 

First— Citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Second — Persons  of  foreign  birth  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  be- 
come citizens,  one  year  and  not  more  than  six  years  prior  to  such  election, 
conformably  to  the  naturalization  laws  of  the  United  States. 

Third— Civilized  persons  of  Indian  descent  who  shall  have  severed  their 
tribal  relations  two  years  next  preceding  such  election. 

Sec.  122.  The  Legislative  Assembly  shall  be  empowered  to  make  further 
extensions  of  suffrage  hereafter,  at  its  discretion,  to  all  citizens  of  mature  age 
and  sound  mind,  not  convicted  of  crime,  without  regard  to  sex,  but  no  law  ex- 
tending the  right  of  suffrage  shall  be  in  force  until  adopted  by  a  majority  of 
the  electors  of  the  State  voting  at  a  general  election. 

Sec.  126.    No  soldier,  seaman,  or  marine  in  the  Army  or    Navy  of 


♦Const,  of  North  Dakota,  1889. 


VOTING    QUAI.IFICATIONS.  121 

the  United  States,  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  this  State  in  consequence  of 
his  being  stationed  here. 

Sec.  128.  Any  woman  having  the  qualifications  enumerated  in  Section 
121  of  this  Article  as  to  age,  residence  and  citizenship,  and  including  those 
now  qualified  by  the  laws  of  the  Territory,  may  vote  for  all  school  officers, 
and  upon  all  questions  pertaining  solely  to  school  purposes. 

Sec.  127.  No  person  who  is  under  jLuardianship,  woM  compos  men  it's  or  in- 
sane, shall  be  qualified  to  vote  at  any  election,  nor  shall  any  person  convicted 
of  treason  or  felony,  unless  restored  to  civil  rights. 


Oregon. 

*ARTICLE  II. 

Section  2.  In  all  elections  not  otherwise  provided  for  by  this  Constitu- 
tion, every  white  (i)  male  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  and  upwards,  who  shall  have  resided  in  the  State  during  the  six 
months  immediately  preceding  such  election,  and  every  white  (i)  male  of 
foreign  birth,  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  who  shall  have 
resided  in  the  United  States  one  year,  and  shall  have  resided  in  this  State 
during  the  six  months  immediately  preceding  such  election,  and  shall  have 
declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  one  year  pre- 
ceding such  election,  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  on  the 
subject  of  naturalization,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elections  authorized 
by  law. 

Sec.  3.  No  idiot  or  insane  person  shall  be  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  an 
elector  ;  and  the  privilege  of  an  elector  shall  be  forfeited  by  a  conviction  of 
any  crime  which  is  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary. 

Sec.  4.  For  the  purpose  of  voting,  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  or  lost  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  absence  while  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  or  of  this  State ;  nor  while  en- 
gaged in  the  navigation  of  the  waters  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States, 
or  on  the  high  seas ;  nor  while  a  student  of  any  seminary  of  learning  ;  nor 
while  kept  at  any  almshouse  or  other  asylum  at  public  expense,  nor  while 
confined  in  any  public  prison. 

Sec.  5.  No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  their  allies,  shall  be  deemed  to  have  acquired  a  residence  in  the 
State  in  consequence  of  having  been  stationed  within  the  same,  nor  shall 
any  such  soldier,  seaman,  or  marine  have  the  right  to  vote. 

♦Constitution  of  Oregon,  1857. 

(i)  Annulled  by  XVth  Amendment  to  Fed.  Const. 


122  VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS. 

Skc.  6,  No  negro,  Chinaman,  or  mulatto  shall  have  the  right  of  suf- 
frage (i). 

Sec.  8.  The  lyCgislattve  Assembly  shall  enact  laws  to  support  the  priv- 
lege  of  free  suffrage,  pre-cribing  the  manner  of  regulating  and  conducting 
elections,  and  prohibiting,  under  adequate  penalties,  all  undue  influence 
therein  from  power,  bribery,  tumult,  and  other  improper  conduct. 

Sec.  17.  All  qualified  electors  shall  vote  in  the  election  precinct  in  the 
county,  where  they  may  reside,  for  county  officers,  or  in  the  State  for  State 
officers,  or  in  any  county  of  a  Congressional  district  in  which  such  electors 
may  reside  for  members  of  Congress. 


South  Dakota. 

Women  and  Indians  ineligible  as  electors. 
Women  may  vote  at  elections  for  school  purposes. 
Women  may  hold  any  office  not  otherwise  provided  for. 

*ARTICLE    VII. 

Sec.  I.  Every  male  person  resident  of  this  State,  who  shall  be  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  not  otherwise  disqualified,  belonging  to  either 
of  the  following  classes,  who  shall  be  a  qualified  elector  under  the  laws  of  the 
Territory  of  Dakota  at  the  date  of  the  ratification  of  this  Constitution  by  the 
people,  or  who  shall  have  resided  in  the  United  States  one  year,  in  this  State 
six  months,  in  the  county  thirty  days,  and  in  the  election  precinct  where  he 
offers  his  vote  ten  days  next  preceding  any  election,  shall  be  deemed  a  qualified 
elector  at  such  election : 

First— Citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Second — Persons  of  foreign  birth  who  shall  have  declared  their  intention  to 
become  citizens  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  upon  the  subject 
of  naturalization. 

[Sec.  2  of  the  same  article  provided  for  the  submission  to  popular  vote  at 
the  general  election  next  ensuing,  by  the  State  I^egislature  at  its  first  session, 
of  the  question,  "Shall  the  word  'male'  be  stricken  from  the  article  of  the  Con- 
stitution relating  to  elections  and  to  the  right  of  suffrage?"  Thiswasduly 
done,  and  was  answered  by  the  electors  in  the  negative.  At  the  same  general 
election,  in  accordance  with  another  act  of  the  Legislature,  the  following  pro- 
posed amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  voted  upon  :   "No  Indian  who  sus- 

(i)  Inoperative  excepting  as  to  Chinamen,  because  in  violation  of  the  XVth 

Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution. 
♦Constitution  of  South  Dakota,  i88q. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  12$ 

tains  tribal  relations,  receives  support  in  whole  or  in  part  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  or  holds  untaxable  land  in  severalty,  shall  be 
permitted  to  vote  at  any  election  held  under  this  Coiistitution  ?"  and  the 
amendment  prevailed.  Woman  and  the  untaxed  Indian  retaining  his  tribal 
relations  were,  therefore,  both  excluded  from  the  right  to  vote.] 

Sec.  6.  No  elector  shall  be  deemed  to  have  lost  his  residence  in  this  State 
by  rea  on  of  his  absence  on  business  of  the  United  States,  or  of  this  State,  or 
in  the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  7.  No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  this  State  in  consequence  of  his  being 
stationed  therein. 

Sec.  8.  No  person  under  guardianship,  non  compos  mentis,  or  insane,  shall 
be  qualified  to  vote  at  any  election,  nor  shall  any  person  convicted  of  trea- 
son or  felony  be  qualified  to  vote  at  any  election,  unless  restored  to  civil 
rights. 

Sec.  9.  Any  woman  having  the  qualifications  enumerated  in  Section  i  of 
this  article,  as  to  age,  lesidence  and  citizenship,  and  including  those  now 
qualified  by  the  laws  of  the  Territory,  may  vote  at  any  election  held  solely  for 
school  purposes,  and  may  hold  any  office  in  this  State  except  as  otherwise 
provided  for  in  this  Constitution. 


Wisconsin. 

Civilized  persons  of  Indian  descent  granted  the  right 
of  suffrage. 

*ARTICI.E  III. 

Section  i.  Every  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  up- 
ward, belonging  to  either  of  the  following  classes,,  who  shall  have  resided  in 
the  State  for  one  year  next  preceding  any  election,  shall  be  deemed  a 
qualified  elector  at  such  election  : 

fi)  First— White  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

(i)  Second— White  persons  of  foreign  birth  who  shall  have  declared  their 
intention  to  become  citizens  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  on 
the  subject  of  naturalization. 

Third— Persons  of  Indian  blood,  who  have  once  been  declared  by  law  of 
Congress  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States,  any  subsequent  law  of  Congress 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

Fourth— Civilized  persons  of  Indian  descent,  not  members  of  any  tribe: 

♦Constitution  of  1848. 

(i)  Held  by  the  Sup.  Court  in  1S66,  that  the  right  of  suflfrage  was  extended 

to  colored  persons  by  vote  of  the  people  at  a  general  election  held 

Nov.  6.  1849. 


124  VOTING    QUALIFICATIONS. 

Provided,  That  the  IvCgislature  may,  at  any  time,  extend  by  law  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  persons  not  herein  enumerated  ;  but  no  such  law  .'^hall  be  in  force 
until  the  same  shall  have  been  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  a  general 
election,  and  approved  by  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  at  such  election. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  under  guardianship,  von  compos  mentis,  or  insane,  shall 
be  qualified  to  vote  at  any  election  ;  nor  shall  any  person  convicted  of  treason 
or  felony  be  qualified  to  vote  at  any  election  unless  restored  to  civil  rights. 

Sec  .  4,  No  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have  lost  his  residence  in  this 
State  by  reason  of  his  absence  on  business  ot  the  United  States  or  of  this 
State. 

Sec.  5.  No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  this  State  in  consequence  of  being  sta- 
tioned within  the  same. 

Sec.  6.  lyaws  may  be  passed  excluding  from  the  right  of  suffrage  all  per- 
sons who  have  been  or  may  be  convicted  of  bribery  or  larceny,  or  of  any  in- 
famous crime,  and  depriving  every  person  who  shall  make,  or  become,  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  interested  in  any  bet  or  wager  depending  upon  the  result 
of  any  election,  from  the  right  to  vote  at  such  election. 

ARTICIvE  XIII. 
Section  2.  Any  inhabitant  of  this  State  who  may  hereafter  be  engaged, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  a  duel,  either  as  principal  or  accessory,  shall 
forever  be  disqualified  as  an  elector,  and  from  holding  any  office  under  the 
Coiistitution  and  laws  of  this  State,  and  may  be  punished  in  such  other  man- 
ner as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 


CLASS    III. 
I.   West  Virginia. 
Constitutional  provisions  of  States  restricting  the  right 
of  suffrage  to  ''male  citizens  of  the  State." 

West  Virginia. 

*ARTICLE  IV. 
Sec.  I.  The  male  citizens  of  the  State  (i)  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elec- 
tions held  within  the  counties  in  which  they  respectively  reside  ;  but  no  per- 
son, who  is  a  minor,  or  of  unsound  mind,  or  a  pauper,  or  who  is  under 
conviction  of  treason,  felony,  or  bribery  in  an  election,  or  who  has  not  been  a 
resident  of  the  State  for  one  year  and  of  the  county  in  which  he  offers  to  vote 

*Constitution  of  West  Virginia,  1872. 

(i)     Federal  Citizens  only  State  citizens.     Art.  II,  Sec.  3. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  1 25 

for  sixty  days  next  preceding  such  oflfer,  shall  be  permitted  to  vote  while  such 
disability  continues ;  but  no  person  in  the  military,  naval  or  marine  service 
of  the  United  States  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  this  State  by  reason  of  being 
statiotved  therein. 

Sec.  12.  No  person  shall  ever  be  denied  or  refused  the  right  or  privilege 
of  voting  at  an  election  because  his  name  is  not  or  has  not  been  registered  or 
listed  as  a  qualified  voter. 


CLASS   IV. 

I.  Kentucky.  2.  New  York. 

Constitutional  provisions  of  States  restricting  the  right 
of  suffrage  to  *  'male  citizens. ' ' 

Kentucky. 

*ARTICI.E  II. 

Sec.  8.  Every  free  white  (i)  male  citizen  (2)  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  who  has  resided  in  the  State  two  years,  or  in  the  county,  town  or  city 
in  which  he  offers  to  vote  one  year,  next  preceding  the  election,  shall  be  a 
voter  ;  but  such  voter  shall  have  been  loi  sixty  days  next  preceding  the  elec- 
tion a  resident  of  the  precinct  in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  and  he  shall  vote  in 
said  precinct,  and  not  elsewhere. 

ARTICLE   VIII. 

Sec.  4.  Laws  shall  be  made  to  exclude  from  office  and  from  suffrage 
those  who  shall  thereafter  be  convicted  of  bribery,  perjury,  forgery,  or  other 
crimes  or  high  misdemeanors  (3).    The  privilege  of  free  suffrage  shall  be  sup- 

*Constitution  of  Kentucky,  1850. 

(i)  Annulled  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution. 

(2)  Foreigners  who  have  resided  in  the  State,  county,  and  precinct  the 

length  of  time  required  by  the  Constitution  are  entitled  to  vote 
immediately  after  being  naturalized.— Morgan  vs.  Dudley,  18  B,  M., 
724;  Gen.  Siats.  Ky.,  1887,  p.  94,  note  i. 

(3)  By  ail  act  of  the  Legislature  (Art.  12,  Chap.  32,  Rev.  Stats,  of  Kentucky, 
1852^,  which  went  into  effect  July  i,  1852,  any  person  sending  or  accepting  a 
challenge  to  fight  a  duel,  or  any  person  carrying  such  challenge  or  consenting 
to  act  as  a  second,  upon  conviction,  forfeited  office  and  the  right  of  suffrage  for 
seven  years. 

A  person  receiving  a  bribe  is  subject  to  fine  or  imprisonment,  or  both,  and 
to  exclusion  from  office  and  the  right  of  suffrage  ;  and  a  person  bribing  an- 
other is  liable  to  a  fine  or  imprisonment,  or  both,  and  to  exclusion  from  office 
and  the  right  of  suffrage  for  five  years. 

Any  person  condemned  to  confinement  in  the  penitentiary  for  larceny, 
robbery,  forgery,  counterfeiting  or  perjury,  or  any  such  like  crime,  shall  for- 
feit his  right  of  suffrage  for  ten  years,  after  his  n  onviction. 


126  VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

ported  by  laws  regulating  elections,  and  prohibiting,  under  adequate  penal- 
ties, all  undue  influences  thereon  from  power,  bribery,  tumult  or  other  im- 
proper practices. 

Sec.  12.  Absence  on  business  of  this  State,  or  the  United  States,  shall  not 
forfeit  a  residence  once  obtained,  so  as  to  deprive  any  one  of  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, or  of  being  elected  or  appointed  to  any  office  under  this  commonwealth^ 
under  the  exceptions  contained  in  this  Constitution. 


New  York. 

♦article  I. 

Sec.  I.  No  member*  of  this  State  shall  be  disfranchised,  or  deprived  of 
any  of  the  rights  and  privileges  secured  to  any  citizens  thereof,  uuless  by  the 
law  of  the  land  or  the  judgment  of  his  peers. 

ARTICI.E   II. 

Sec.  I.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  age  of  twenty  one  years,  who  shall 
have  been  a  citizen  for  ten  days  and  an  inhabitant  of  this  State  one  year  next 
preceding  an  election,  and  for  the  last  four  months  a  resident  of  the  county, 
and  for  the  last  thirty  days  a  resident  of  the  election  district  in  which  he  may 
'offer  his  vote,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  such  election  in  the  election  district 
of  which  he  shall  be  at  the  time  a  resident,  and  not  elsewhere,  for  all  officers 
that  now  are  or  hereafter  may  be  elective  by  the  people,  and  npon  all  ques. 
tions  which  may  be  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people  :  Provided,  That  in 
time  of  war  no  elector  in  the  actual  military  service  of  the  State,  or  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  Army  and  Navy  thereof,  shall  be  deprived  of  his  vote  by 
reason  of  his  absence  from  such  election  district ;  and  the  Legislature  shal^ 
have  power  to  provide  the  manner  in  which  and  the  time  and  place  at  which 
such  absent  electors  may  vote,  and  for  the  return  and  canvass  of  their  votes 
in  the  election  districts  in  which  they  respectively  reside.  "*■ 

Sec.  2.  No  person  who  shall  receive,  expect,  or  offer  to  receive,  or  pay, 
offer,  or  promise  to  pay,  contribute,  offer  or  promise  to  contribute  to  another, 
to  be  paid  or  used,  any  money  or  other  valuable  thing  as  a  compensation  or  re- 
ward for  the  giving  or  withholding  a  vote  at  an  election,  or  who  shall  make 
any  piomise  to  influence  the  giving  or  withholding  any  such  vote,  or  who 
shall  make  or  become  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  any  bet  or  wager 
depending  upon  the  result  of  any  election,  shall  vote  at  such  election  ;  and 
upon  challenge  for  such  cause,  the  person  so  challenged,  before  the  ofl&cers 
authorized  for  that  purpose  shall  receive  his  vote,  shall  swear  or  affirm,  before 

*Constitution  of  New  York  of  1846  as  amended  in  1874. 


VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS.  1 27 

such  officers,  that  he  has  not  received  or  oflFered,  does  not  expect  to  receive, 
has  not  paid,  offered,  or  promised  to  pay,  contributed,  offered,  or  promised  to 
contribute  to  another,  to  be  paid  or  used,  any  money  or  other  valuable  thing 
as  a  compensation  or  reward  for  the  giving  or  withholding  a  vote  at  such 
election,  and  has  not  made  any  promise  to  influence  the  giving  or  withholding 
of  any  such  vote,  nor  made  or  become  directly  or  indirectly  interested  in  any 
bet  or  wager  depending  upon  the  result  of  such  election.  The  Legislature,  at 
the  session  thereof  next  after  the  adoption  of  this  section,  shall,  and  from  time 
to  time  thereafter  may,  enact  laws  excluding  from  the  right  of  suflFrage  all 
persons  convicted  of  bribery  or  of  any  infamous  crime. 

Sec.  3.  For  the  purpose  of  voting,  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  or  lost  a  residence,  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  absence,  while  em- 
ployed in  the  service  of  the  United  States ;  nor  while  engaged  in  the  navi- 
gation of  the  waters  of  this  State  or  of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  high  seas  ; 
nor  while  a  student  of  any  seminary  of  learning ;  nor  while  kept  at  any 
almshouse,  or  other  asylum,  at  public  expense;  nor  while  confined  in  any 
public  prison. 

Sec.  4.  Laws  shall  be  made  for  ascertaining,  by  proper  proofs,  the  citizens 
who  shall  be  entitled  to  the  right  of  suffrage  hereby  established. 

GENERAL  ELECTION  LAW. 
Title  I. 
Sec.  5.  No  person  who  shall  have  been  convicted  of  an  infamous  crime 
deemed  by  the  laws  a  felony,  at  any  time  previous  to  an  election,  shall  be  per- 
mitted to  vote  thereat ;  unless  he  shall  have  been  pardoned  before  or  after  his 
term  of  imprisonment  has  expired,  and  restored  by  pardon  to  all  the  rights  of 
a  citizen. 


CLASS  V. 
I.  New  Hampshire. 

Constitutional  provisions  of   States   whose    qualified 
voters  are  "male  inhabitants." 

New  Hampshire. 

*PART  I. 
Article  ii.    All  elections  ought  to  be  free,  and  every  inhabitant  of  the 
State   having  the  proper  qualifications  has  equal   right  to  elect  and  to  be 
elected  into  office. 

*Constitution  of  New  Hampshire  1792,  with  amendments  of  1877. 


128  VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS. 

PART  II. 

Section  28.  The  Senate  shall  be  the  first  branch  of  the  I^egislature,  and 
the  Senators  shall  be  chosen  in  the  following  manner,  viz,  :  every  male  in- 
habitant of  each  town  and  parish  with  town  privileges,  and  places  unin- 
corporated, in  this  State,  of  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  upward,  excepting 
paupers  and  persons  excused  from  paying  taxes  at  their  own  request,  shall 
have  a  right,  at  the  biennial  or  other  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  said  towns 
and  parishes,  to  be  duly  warned  and  holden  biennially  forever  in  the  month  of 
November,  to  vote  in  the  town  or  parish  wherein  he  dwells,  for  the  Senator  in 
the  district  whereof  he  is  a  member. 

Sec.  30.  And  every  person  qualified  as  the  Constitution  provides,  shall  be 
considered  an  inhabitant  for  the  purpose  of  electing  and  being  elected  into 
any  office  or  place  within  this  State,  in  the  town,  parish  and  plantation  where 
he  dwelleth  and  hath  his  home. 

Sec.  31.  And  the  inhabitants  of  plantations  and  places  unincorporated, 
qualified  as  this  Constitution  provides,  who  are  or  shall  be  required  to  assess 
taxes  upon  themselves  toward  the  support  of  government,  or  shall  be  taxed 
therefor,  shall  have  the  same  privilege  of  voting  lor  Senators  in  the  planta- 
tions and  places  wherein  they  reside,  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  respective 
towns  and  parishes  aforesaid  have.  And  the  meetings  of  such  plantations  and 
places  for  that  purpose  shall  be  holden  biennially  in  the  month  of  November, 
at  such  places  respectively  therein  as  the  assessors  thereof  shall  direct ; 
which  assessors  shall  have  like  authority  for  notifying  the  electors,  collecting 
and  returning  the  votes,  as  the  selectmen  and  town  clerks  have  in  their  sev- 
eral towns  by  this  Constitution. 


CIvASS  VI. 
I.  Wyoming. 
Constitutional  provisions  of  States  granting  the  right 
of  suffrage  to  ' '  all  citizens  of  the  United  States, ' '  irre- 
spective of  sex. 

Wyoming. 

Voters  must   be   able   to   read,   unless   prevented   by 
physical  disability. 

♦ARTICLE  VI. 
Section  i.    The  rights  of  citizens  of  the  State  of  Wyoming  to  vote  and  hold 


♦Constitution  of  Wyoming;  1889. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  1 29 

office  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  on  account  of  sex.  Both  male  and  fe- 
male citizens  of  this  State  shall  enjoy  all  civil,  political  and  religious  rights 
and  privileges. 

Sec.  2.  :Every  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years 
and  upwards,  who  has  resided  in  the  State  or  Territory  one  year  and  in  the 
county  wherein  such  residence  is  located  sixty  days  next  preceding  any  elec- 
tion, shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  such  election,  except  as  herein  otherwise 
provided. 

Sec.  5.  No  person  shall  be  deemed  a  qualified  elector  of  this  State,  un- 
less such  a  person  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  6.  All  idiots,  insane  persons,  and  persons  convicted  of  infamous 
crimes,  unless  restored  to  civil  rights,  are  excluded  from  the  elective  franchise. 

Sec.  8.  No  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  in  the  Army  or  Navy  of  the.  United 
States  shall  be  deemed  a  resident  of  this  State  in  consequence  of  his  being  sta- 
tioned here. 

Sec.  9.  No  person  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  who  shall  not  be  able  to  read 
the  Constitution  of  this  State.  The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  not  apply 
to  any  person  prevented  by  physical  disability  from  complying  with  its  re- 
quirements. 

Sec.  10.  Nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  deprive  any  per- 
son of  the  right  to  vote  who  has  such  right  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this 
Constitution,  unless  disqualified  by  the  restrictions  of  Section  6  of  this  Article. 
After  five  years  from  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution  none  but  citizens  of  the 
United  States  shall  have  the  right  to  vote. 

Sec.  12.  No  person  qualified  to  be  an  elector  of  the  State  of  Wyoming, 
shall  be  allowed  to  vote  at  any  general  or  special  election  hereafter  to  be 
holden  in  this  State,  unless  he  or  she  shall  have  registered  as  a  voter  accord- 
ing to  law,  unless  the  failure  to  register  is  caused  by  sickness  or  absence,  for 
which  provision  shall  be  made  by  law.  The  Legislature  of  the  State  shall  en" 
act  such  laws  as  will  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  section,  which  en- 
actment shall  be  subject  to  amendment,  but  shall  never  be  repealed  ;  but  this 
section  shall  not  apply  to  the  first  election  held  under  this  Constitution, 


CI.ASS  VII. 

1.  Connecticut.  5.     Pknnsyi.vania. 

2.  Delaware.  6.     Rhode  Island. 

3.  Georgia.  7.    Tennessee. 

4.  Massachusetts.  8.    Texas. 

9.     Virginia. 


130  VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS. 

Constitutional  provisions  of  States  granting  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  "  male  citizens,"  or  to  "  male  citizens  of  the 
United  States,"  or  to  "male  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  male  aliens  who  have  declared  their  intentions," 
under  special  limitations. 

Connecticut. 

An  educational  qualification  required  of  electors. 

ARTICIvE  VI-CONSTITUTION  1818. 

Sec.  3.  The  privilege»of  an  elector  shall  be  forfeited  by  a  conviction  of 
bribery,  forgery,  perjury,  dueling,  fraudulent  bankruptcy,  theft,  or  other 
offense,  for  which  an  infamous  punishment  is  inflicted. 

Sec.  4,  Every  elector  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  in  this  State,  except  in 
the  cases  provided  for  in  this  Constitution. 

ARTICI.E  VIII— CONSTITUTIONAL.  AMENDMENT  1845. 
Every  white  male  citizen  of  the  United  St&tes,  who  shall  have  attained 
Ihe  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  shall  have  resided  in  this  State  for  a  term 
of  one  year  next  preceding,  and  in  the  town  in  which  he  may  offer  himself  to 
■be  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  an  elector  at  least  six  months  next  preceding  the 
time  he  may  so  offer  himself,  and  shall  sustain  a  good  moral  character,  shall, 
on  his  taking  such  oath  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law,  be  an  elector, 

ARTICI.E  XI— CONSTITUTIONAL.  AMENDMENT  I855. 
Every  person  shall  be  able  to  read  any  article  of  the  Constitution,  or  any 
section  of  the  Statutes  of  the  State,  before  being  admitted  as  an  elector. 

ARTICLE  XVII— CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENT  1875. 
The  General  Assembly  shall  have  power,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  mem- 
bers of  both  branches,  to  restore  the  privileges  of  an  elector  to  those'who 
may  have  forfeited  the  same  by  a  conviction  of  crime. 


Delaware. 

Tax  qualifications  requisite  in  an  elector  twenty-two 
years  of  age  and  upwards. 


VOTING   QUAI.IFICATIONS.  13I 

*  ARTICLE  IV. 
Section  i.  All  elections  for  Governor,  Senators,  Representatives,  Sheriffs 
and  Coroners  shall  be  held  on  the  Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in 
the  month  of  November  of  the  year  in  which  they  are  to  be  held,  and  be  by 
ballot ;  and  in  such  elections  every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years,  or  upwards,  having  resided  in  the  State  one  year  next  be- 
fore the  election,  and  the  last  month  thereof  in  the  county  where  he  offers  to 
vote,  and  having  within  two  years  next  before  the  election  paid  a  county  tax,, 
which  shall  have  been  assessed  at  least  six  months  before  the  election,  shall 
enjoy  the  right  of  an  elector  ;  and  every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  and  under  the  age  of  twenty-two  years,  having  resided  as 
aforesaid,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  without  payment  of  any  tax  ;  provided^ 
that  no  person  in  the  military,  naval  or  marine  service  of  the  United  States- 
shall  be  considered  as  acquiring  a  residence  in  this  State,  by  being  stationed  in 
any  garrison,  barrack  or  military  or  naval  place  or  station  within  this  State  ; 
and  no  idiot,  or  insane  person,  or  pauper,  or  person  convicted  of  a  crime  deemed 
by  law  felony,  shall  enjoy  the  right  of  an  elector  ;  and  that  the  Legislature 
may  impose  the  forfeiture  of  the  right  of  suffrage  as  a  punishment  for  crime^ 


Georgia. 


Tax  qualification. 


fARTlCLE  II. 

Section  i.  Paragraph  II.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  (ex- 
cept as  hereinafter  provided),  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  shall  have  re- 
sided in  this  State  one  year  next  preceding  the  election,  and  shall  have  resided 
six  months  in  the  county  in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  and  shall  have  paid  all 
taxes  which  may  hereafter  be  required  of  him,  and  which  he  may  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  paying,  agreeably  to  law,  except  for  the  year  of  the  election, 
shall  be  deemed  an  elector  :  Provided,  that  no  soldier,  sailor  or  marine  in  the 
military  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States,  shall  acquire  the  rights  of  an 
elector  by  reason  of  being  stationed  on  duty  in  this  State  ;  and  no  person 
shall  vote  who,  if  challenged,  shall  refuse  to  take  the  following  oath,  or  affir- 
mation : 

"  I  do  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  am  twenty  one  years  of  age,  have  resided  in 
this  State  one  year,  and  in  this  county  six  months,  next  preceding  this  elec- 
tion. I  have  paid  all  taxes  which,  since  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitu- 
tion of  this  State,  have  been  required  of  me  previous  to  this  year,  and  which 

*Const.  of  Delaware,  1831. 
fConst,  of  Georgia,  1877. 


132  VOTING   QUAI.IFICATIONS. 

I  have  had  an  opportunity  to  pay,  and  I  have  not  voted  at  this  election  " 

Sbc.  2.  Paragraph  I.  The  General  Assembly  may  provide,  from  time  to 
time,  for  the  registration  of  all  electors,  but  the  following  classes  of  persons 
shall  not  be  permitted  to  register,  vote  or  hold  any  office,  or  appointment  of 
honor  or  trust  in  this  State,  to-wit  : 

First— Those  who  have  been  convicted,  in  any  court  of  competent  juris- 
diction, of  treason  against  the  State,  of  embezzlement  of  public  funds,  mal- 
feasance in  office,  bribery  or  larceny,  or  of  any  crime  involving  moral  turpi- 
tude, punishable  by  the  laws  of  this  State  with  imprisonment  in  the  peniten- 
tiary, unle&s  such  person  shall  have  been  pardoned. 
Second — Idiots  and  insane  persons. 


Massachusetts. 

Tax  and  educational  qualifications. 

ARTlClyE  III.  (i)  Every  male  citizen  of  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  up- 
wards (excepting  paupers  and  persons  under  guardianship),  who  shall  have 
resided  within  the  commonwealth  one  year,  and  within  the  town  or  district  in 
which  he  may  claim  a  right  to  vote  six  calendar  months  next  preceding  any 
election  of  Governor.  Ivieutenant-Governor,  Senators  or  Representatives,  and 
who  shall  have  paid,  by  himself  or  his  parent,  master,  or  guardian,  any  State 
or  county  tax  which  shall,  within  two  years  next  preceding  such  election, 
have  been  assessed  upon  him  in  any  town  or  district  of  this  commonwealth, 
and  also  every  citizen  who  shall  be  by  law  exempted  from  taxation,  and  who 
shall  be  in  all  other  respects  qualified  as  above  mentioned,  shall  have  a  right 
to  vote  in  such  election  of  Governor,  L,ieutenant-Governor,  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentatives, and  no  other  person  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  in  such  elections. 

(2)  ARTICI^E  XX.  No  person  shall  have  the  right  to  vote,  or  be  eligible  to 
office  under  the  Constitution  of  this  common  wealth, who  shall  not  be  able  to  read 
the  Constitution  in  the  English  language,  and  write  his  name  :  Provided,  how- 
ever, that  the  provi.sions  of  this  amendment  shall  not  apply  to  any  person  pre- 
vented by  a  physical  disability  from  complying  with  its  requisitions,  nor  to 
any  person  who  now  has  the  right  to  vote,  nor  £o  any  person  who  shall  be  sixty 
years  of  age  or  upwards  at  the  time  this  amendment  shall  take  effect. 

[In  1859  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  adopted  prohibiting  pei- 
sons  of  foreign  birth  from  holding  office  or  voting  unless  they  had  resided  at 
least  two  years  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  subsequent  to  their 
naturalization,  but  this  amendment  was  annulled  in  1863.] 

(i)  Amendment  to  Const,  of  Mass.  of  1780;  ratified  1822. 
(2)  Const,  amendment,  ratified  1857. 


VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS.  I33 

Pennsylvania. 

■Tax  limitations. 

Temporary  disqualifications  for  voting. 

♦ARTICLE  I. 
Sec.  5.    Elections  shall  be  free  and  equal ;  and  no  power,  civil  or  mili- 
tary, shall  at  any  time  interfere  to  prevent  the  free  exercise  of  the  right   of 
sufiErage. 

ARTICLE  VIII. 

Section  i.  Every  male  citizen  twenty-one  years  of  age,  possessing  the 
following  qualifications,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  all  elections  : 

First— He  shall  have  been  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  at  least  one 
month. 

Second— He  shall  have  resided  in  the  Slate  one  year  (or  if,  having  prev- 
iously been  a  qualified  elector  or  native-born  citizen  of  the  State,  he  shall  have 
removed  therefrom  and  returned,  then  six  months),  immediately  preceding 
the  election . 

Third — He  shall  have  resided  in  the  election  district  where  he  shall  oflfer 
to  vote  at  least  two  months  immediately  preceding  the  election. 

Fourth— If  twenty-two  years  of  age  or  upwards,  he  shall  have  paid  with- 
in two  years  a  State  or  county  tax,  which  shall  have  been  assessed  at  least 
two  months,  and  paid  at  least  one  month,  before  the  election. 

Sec.  6.  Whenever  any  of  the  qualified  electors  of  this  commonwealth 
shall  be  in  actual  military  service,  under  a  requisition  from  the  President  of 
the  United  States  or  by  the  authority  of  this  commonwealth,  such  electors  may 
•exercise  the  right  of  suffrage  in  all  elections  by  the  citizens,  under  such  regu- 
lations as  are  or  shall  be  prescribed  by  law,  as  fully  as  if  they  were  present  at 
their  usual  places  of  election. 

Sec.  7.  All  laws  regulating  the  holding  of  elections  by  the  citizens  or  for 
the  registration  of  electors,  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  State,  but  no 
elector  shall  be  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  voting  by  reason  of  his  name  not 
being  registered. 

Sec.  8.  Any  person  who  shall  give,  or  promise,  or  offer  to  give,  to  an  elec- 
tor, any  money,  reward,  or  other  valuable  consideration  for  his  vote  at  an  elec- 
tion, or  for  withholding  the  same,  or  who  shall  give  or  promise  to  give  such 
consideration  to  any  other  person  or  party  for  such  elector's  vote,  or  for  the 
withholding  thereof,  and  any  elector  who  shall  receive  or  agree  to  receive,  for 
himself  or  for  another,  any  money,  reward,  or  other  valuable  consideration  for 
his  vote  at  an  election  or  for  withholding  the  same,  shall  thereby  forfeit  the 


*Const.  of  Pennsylvania,  1873. 


134  VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

right  to  vote  at  such  election,  and  any  elector  whose  right  to  vote  shall  be 
challenged  for  such  cause  before  the  election  officers,  shall  be  required  ta 
swear  or  affirm  that  the  matter  of  the  challenge  is  untrue  before  his  vote  shall 
be  received. 

Sec.  9.  Any  person  who  shall,  while  a  candidate  for  office,  be  guilty  of 
bribery,  fraud,  or  wilful  violation  of  any  election  law,  shall  be  forever  dis- 
qualified from  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  in  this  commonwealth  ;  and 
any  person  convicted  of  wilful  violation  of  the  election  laws  shall,  in  ad- 
dition to  any  penalties  provided  by  law,  be  deprived  of  the  right  of  suffrage 
absolutely  for  a  term  of  four  years. 

Sec.  13.  For  the  purpose  of  voting  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence,  or  lost  it  by  reason  of  his  ab- 
sence, while  employed  in  the  service,  either  civil  or  military,  of  this  State  or 
of  the  United  States,  nor  while  engaged  in  the  navigation  of  the  waters  of 
the  State  or  of  the  United  States,  or  on  the  high  seas,  nor  while  a  student  or 
any  institution  of  learning,  nor  while  kept  in  any  poor-house  or  other  asylunr 
at  public  expense,  nor  while  confined  in  public  prison. 


Rhode  Isi^and. 
Freehold  and  Tax  lyimitations. 

Residents  on  lands  ceded  to  the  United  States  denied 
the  privilege  of  electors. 

*  ARTICLE  II. 
Section  i.  Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  who  has  had  his  residence  and  his  home  in  this  State  one  year,  and  in 
the  town  or  city  in  which  he  may  claim  a  right  to  vote  six  months,  next  pre- 
ceding the  time  of  voting,  and  who  is  really  and  truly  possessed  in  his  own 
right  of  real  estate  in  such  town  or  city  of  the  value  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  dollars,  over  and  above  all  incumbrances,  or  which  shall  rent  for 
seven  dollars  per  annum,  over  and  above  any  rent  received,  or  the  interest  of 
any  incumbrances  thereon,  being  an  estate  in  fee-simple,  fee-tail,  for  the  life 
of  any  person,  or  an  estate  in  reversion  or  remainder,  which  qualifies  no 
other  person  to  vote,  the  conveyance  of  which  estate,  if  by  deed,  shall  have 
been  recorded  at  least  ninety  days,  shall  hereafter  have  a  right  to  vote  at  the 
election  of  all  civil  officers,  and  on  all  questions,  in  all  legal  town  or  ward 
meetings,  so  long  as  he  continues  so  qualified.  And  if  any  person  hereinbe- 
fore described  shall  own  any  such  estate  within  this  State  out  of  the  town  or 

♦Const,  of  Rhode  Island,  1842, 


VOTING   QUAUFICATIONS.  1 35 

city  in  which  he  resides,  he  shall  have  a  right  to  vote  in  the  election  of  all 
general  ofl&cers  and  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  in  the  town  or  city  in 
which  he  shall  have  had  his  residence  and  home  for  the  term  of  six  months 
next  preceding  the  election,  upon  producing  a  certificate  from  the  clerk  of 
the  town  or  city  in  which  his  estate  lies,  bearing  date  within  ten  days  of  the 
time  of  his  voting,  setting  forth  that  such  person  has  a  sufficient  estate 
therein  to  qualify  him  as  a  voter,  and  that  the  deed,  if  any,  has  been  recorded 
ninety  days. 

Sec.  2,  Every  male  native  citizen  of  the  United  States,  of  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  who  has  had  his  residence  and  home  in  this  State  for  two 
years,  and  in  the  town  or  city  in  which  he  may  offer  to  vote,  six  months^ 
next  preceding  the  time  of  voting,  whose  name  is  registered  pursuant  to  the 
act  calling  the  convention  to  frame  this  Constitution,  or  shall  be  registered  in 
the  office  of  the  clerk  of  such  town  or  citj',  at  least  seven  days  before  the  time 
he  shall  oflfer  to  vote,  and  before  the  last  day  of  December  in  the  present 
year,  and  who  has  paid  or  shall  pay  a  tax  or  taxes,  assessed  upon  his  estate 
within  this  State,  and  within  a  year  of  the  time  of  voting,  to  the  amount  of 
one  dollar,  or  who  shall  voluntarily  pay,  at  least  seven  days  before  the  time 
he  shall  offer  to  vote,  and  before  the  said  last  day  of  December,  to  the  clerk 
or  treasurer  of  the  town  or  city  where  he  resides,  the  sum  of  one  dollar,  for 
the  support  of  public  schools  therein,  and  shall  make  proof  of  the  same,  by 
the  certificate  of  the  clerk,  treasurer,  or  collector  of  any  town  or  city  where 
such  payment  is  made  ;  or  who,  being  so  registered,  has  been,  enrolled  in 
any  military  company  in  this  State,  and  done  military  service  or  duty 
therein,  within  the  present  year,  pursuant  to  law,  and  shall  (until  other  proof 
is  required  by  law)  prove  by  the  certificate  of  the  officer  legally  commanding 
the  regiment,  or  chartered,  or  legally  authorized  volunteer  company,  in  which 
he  may  have  served  or  done  duty,  that  he  has  been  equipped  and  done  duty  ac- 
cording to  law,  or  by  the  certificate  of  the  commissioners  upon  military 
claims  that  he  has  performed  military  service,  shall  have  a  right  to  vote  in 
the  election  of  all  civil  officers  and  on  all  questions  in  all  legally  organized 
town  or  ward  meetings,  until  the  end  of  the  first  year  after  the  adoption  of  this: 
Constitution,  or  until  the  end  of  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-three. 
From  and  after  that  time,  every  such  citizen,  who  has  had  the  residence 
herein  required,  and  whose  name  shall  be  registered  in  the  town  where  he 
resides,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  December  in  the  year  next  preceding  the 
time  of  his  voting,  and  who  shall  show  by  legal  proof  that  he  has  for  and 
within  the  year  next  preceding  the  time  he  shall  offer  to  vote  paid  a  tax  or 
taxes  assessed  against  him  in  any  town  or  city  in  this  State  to  the  amount  of 
one  dollar,  or  that  he  has  been  enrolled  in  a  military  company  in  this  State,, 
been  equipped  and  done  duty  therein,  according  to  law,  and  at  least  for  one 
day  during  such  year,  shall  have  a  right  to  vote  in  the  election  of  all  civil  offi- 
cers and  on  all  questions  in  all  legally  organized  town  or  ward  meetings  •. 


136  VOTING   QUAIvIFlCATIONS. 

Provided,  That  no  person  shall  at  any  time  be  allowed  to  vote  in  the  election 
of  the  City  Council  of  the  city  of  Providence,  or  upon  any  proposition  to  im- 
pose a  tax,  or  for  the  expenditure  of  money  in  any  towa  or  city,  unless  he 
shall  within  the  year  next  preceding  have  paid  a  tax  assessed  upon  his  prop- 
erty therein,  valued  at  least  at  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars. 

Sec.  3.  The  assessors  of  each  town  or  city  shall  annually  assess  upon 
every  person  whose  name  shall  be  registered  a  tax  of  one  dollar,  or  such  sum 
as  with  his  other  taxes  shall  amount  to  one  dollar,  which  registry  tax  shall 
be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  such  town  or  city,  and  be  applied  to  the  sup- 
port of  public  schools  therein.  But  no  compulsory  process  shall  issue  for 
the  collection  of  any  registry  tax  :  Provided,  That  the  registry  tax  of  every 
person  who  has  performed  military  duty,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the 
preceding  section,  shall  be  remitted  for  the  year  he  shall  perform  such 
<iuty ;  and  the  registry  tax  assessed  upon  any  mariner  for  any  year  while  he 
is  at  sea  shall,  upon  his  apolication,  be  remitted,  and  no  person  shall  be  al- 
lowed to  vote  whose  registry  tax  for  either  of  the  two  years  next  preced- 
ing the  time  of  voting  is  not  paid  or  remitted,  as  herein  provided. 

Sec-  4.  No  person  in  the  military,  naval,  marine,  or  any  other  service  of 
the  United  States,  shall  be  considered  as  having  the  required  residence  by 
reason  of  being  employed  in  any  garrison,  barrack,  or  military  or  naval  sta- 
tion in  the  State,  and  no  pauper,  lunatic,  person  non  compos  mentis,  person 
under  guardianship,  or  member  of  the  Narragansett  tribe  of  Indians,  shall  be 
permitted  to  be  registered  or  to  vote  ;  nor  shall  any  person  convicted  of  brib- 
ery, or  of  any  crime  deemed  infamous,  at  common  law,  be  permitted  to  exer- 
cise that  privilege  until  he  be  expressly  restored  thereto  by  the  General  As- 
sembly. 

Sec.  5.  Persons  residing  on  lands  ceded  by  this  State  to  the  United 
States,  shall  not  be  entitled  to  exercise  the  privilege  of  electors. 

Sec.  6.  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  full  power  to  provide  for  a  reg- 
istry of  voters,  to  prescribe  the  manner  of  conducting  the  elections,  the  form 
■of  certificates,  the  nature  of  the  residence  to  be  required  in  case  of  a  dispute 
as  to  the  right  of  any  person  to  vote,  and  generally  to  enact  all  laws  neces- 
sary to  carry  this  article  into  effect,  and  to  prevent  abuse,  corruption  and  fraud 
in  voting. 

CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENT,  ADOPTED  1864. 

ARTICIvE  IV.  Electors  of  this  State,  who,  in  time  of  war,  are  absent  from 
the  State,  in  the  actual  military  service  of  the  United  States,  being  otherwise 
qualified,  shall  have  a  right  to  vote  in  all  elections  in  the  State  for  President 
and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  Representatives  in  Congress,  and  gen- 
eral officers  of  the  State.  The  General  Assembly  shall  have  full  power  to  pro- 
vide by  law  for  carrying  this  article  into  effect ;  and  until  such  provision  shall 
be  made  by  law,  every  such  absent  elector  on  the  day  of  such  elections  may 
deliver  a  written  or  praited  ballot,  with  the  names  of  the  persons  voted  for 


VOTING   QUAI.IFICATIONS.  137 

thereon,  and  his  Christian  and  surname,  and  his  voting  residence  in  the  State, 
written  at  length  on  the  back  thereof,  to  the  officer  commanding  the  regi- 
ment or  company  to  which  he  belongs  ;  and  all  such  ballots  certified  by  such 
commanding  officer  to  have  been  given  by  the  elector  whose  name  is  written 
thereon,  and  returned  by  such  commanding  officer  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
within  the  time  prescribed  by  law  for  counting  the  votes  in  such  elections, 
shall  be  received  and  counted  with  the  same  effect  as  if  given  by  such  elector 
in  open  town,  ward,  or  district  meeting ;  and  the  clerk  of  each  town  or  city, 
until  otherwise  provided  by  law,  shall,  within  five  days  after  any  such  elec- 
tion, transmit  to  the  Secretary  of  State  a  certified  list  of  the  names  of  all  such 
electors  on  their  respective  voting  lists. 


Tennessee. 

Poll  tax  limitation. 

*ARTICI.E  I. 

Section  5.  That  elections  shall  be  free  and  equal,  and  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, as  hereinafter  declared,  shall  never  be  denied  to  any  person  entitled 
thereto,  except  upon  a  conviction  by  a  jury  ofsome  infamous  crime,  previously 
ascertained  and  declared  by  law,  and  judgment  thereon  by  court  of  compe- 
tent jurisdiction. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

Section  i.  Every  male  person  of  the  age  or  twenty-one  years,  being  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  a  resident  of  this  State  for  twelve  months,  and 
of  the  county  wherein  he  may  offer  his  vote  for  six  months  next  preceding  the 
day  of  election,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  for  members  of  the  General  Assembly, 
and  other  civil  officers  for  the  county  or  district  in  which  he  resides  ;  and  there 
shall  be  no  qualifications  attached  to  the  right  of  sufi"rage,  except  that  each 
voter  shall  give  to  the  judge*  of  election,  where  he  offers  to  vote,  satisfactory 
evidence  that  he  has  paid  the  poll  taxes  assessed  against  him  for  such  preced- 
ing period  as  the  Legislature  shall  prescribe,  and  at  such  time  as  may  be  pro- 
vided bylaw;  without  which  his  vote  cannot  be  received.  And  all  male  citizens 
of  the  State  shall  be  subject  to  the  payment  of  poll  taxes  and  the  performance 
of  military  duty  within  such  agf  s  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law.  The  General 
Assembly  shall  have  power  to  enact  laws  requiring  voters  to  vote  in  the  elec- 
tion precincts  in  which  they  may  reside,  and  laws  to  secure  the  freedom  of 
elections  and  the  purity  of  the  ballot-box 

Sec,  2.  Laws  may  be  passed  excluding  from  the  right  of  suffirage  persons 
who  may  be  convicted  of  infamous  crimes. 

*Coast.  of  Tennessee,  1870. 


138  VOTING    QUALIFICATIONS. 

Texas. 

% 

Provisional  tax  limitation  in  incorporated  towns  and 
cities. 

*ARTICI,E  VI. 

Section  i.  The  following  classes  of  persons  shall  not  be  allowed  to  vote 
in  this  State,  to-wit : 

First— Persons  under  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

Second— Idiots  and  lunatics. 

Third— All  paupers  supported  by  any  county. 

Fourth— All  persons  convicted  of  any  felony,  subject  to  such  exceptions  as 
the  I,egislature  may  make. 

Fifth — All  soldiers,  marines,  and  seamen  employed  in  the  service  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  2.  F)very  male  person  subject  to  none  of  the  foregoing  disqualifica- 
tions, who  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  who  shall  be  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  have  resided  in  this  State  one  year 
next  preceding  an  election,  and  the  last  six  months  within  the  district  or  county 
in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  shall  be  deemed  a  qualified  elector ;  and  every 
male  person  of  foreign  birth,  subject  to  none  of  the  foregoing  disqualifica- 
tions, who,  at  any  time  before  an  election,  shall  have  declared  his  intention 
to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  in  accordance  with  the  Federal  nat- 
uralization laws,  and  shall  have  resided  in  this  State  one  year  next  preceding 
such  election,  and  the  last  six  months  in  the  county  in  which  he  offers  to  vote, 
shall  also  be  deemed  a  qualified  elector  ;  and  all  electors  shall  vote  in  the  elec- 
tion precinct  of  their  residence  :  Provided,  That  electors  living  in  any  un- 
organized county  may  vote  at  any  election  precinct  in  the  county  to  which 
such  county  is  attached  for  judicial  purposes. 

Sec.  3.  All  qualified  electors  of  the  State,  as  herein  described,  who  shall 
have  resided  for  six  months  immediately  preceding  an  election  within  the  lim- 
its of  any  city  or  corporate  town  shall  have  the  right  to  vote  for  Mayor  and  all 
other  elective  ofl&cers ;  but  in  all  elections  to  determine  expenditure  of  money 
or  assumption  of  debt  only  those  shall  be  qualified  to  vote  who  pay  taxes  on 
property  in  said  city  or  incorporated  town  :  Provided,  That  no  poll  tax  for  the 
payment  of  debts  thus  incurred  shall  be  levied  upon  the  persons  debarred  from 
voting  in  relation  thereto. 

Sec.  4.  In  all  elections  by  the  people  the  vote  shall  be  by  ballot,  and  the 
Legislature  shall  provide  for  the  numbering  of  tickets  and  make  such  other 
regulations  as  may  be  necessary  to  detect  and  punish  fraud  and  preserve  the 

*Const.  of  Texas,  1S76. 


VOTING  QUAI.IFICATIONS.  1 39 

purity  of  the  ballot-box  ;  but  no  law  shall  ever  be  enacted  requiring  a  regis- 
tration of  the  voters  of  the  State. 

ARTICLE   XVI. 

Section  2.  Laws  shall  be  made  to  exclude  from  office,  serving  on  juries, 
and  from  the  right  of  suffrage  those  who  have  been  or  shall  hereafter  be  con- 
victed of  bribery,  perjury  or  other  high  crimes.  The  privilege  of  free  suffrage 
shall  be  protected  by  laws  regulating  elections  and  prohibiting,  under  ade- 
quate penalties,  all  undue  influence  therein  from  power,  bribery,  tumult,  or 
other  improper  practice. 

Sec.  4.  Any  citizen  of  this  State  who  shall,  after  the  adoption  of  this  Con- 
stitution, fight  a  duel  with  deadly  weapons,  or  send  or  accept  a  challenge  to 
fight  a  duel  with  deadly  weapons,  either  within  this  State  or  out  of  it, 
or  who  shall  act  as  second,  or  knowingly  assist  in  any  manner  those  thus 
offending,  shall  be  deprived  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  or  of  holding  any  office  of 
trust  or  profit  under  this  State. 


Poll  tax  limitation. 


Virginia. 


*ARTICLE   I. 


Section  8.  That  all  elections  ought  to  be  free,  and  that  all  men,  having 
sufficient  evidence  of  permanent  common  interest  with,  and  attachment  to, 
the  community  have  the  right  of  suffrage.        *       *       * 

ARTICLE  III. 

Section  i  .  Every  citizen  of  the  United  States,  twenty-one  years  old,  who 
shall  have  been  a  resident  of  the  State  twelve  months,  and  of  the  county,  city 
or  town  in  which  he  shall  offer  to  vote,  three  months  next  preceding  any  elec- 
tion, and  shall  have  paid  to  the  State,  before  the  day  of  election,  the  capita- 
tion tax  required  by  law  for  the  preceding  year,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  for 
members  of  the  General  Assembly  and  all  officers  elected  by  the  people  : 
Provided,  That  no  officer,  soldier,  seaman  or  marine  of  the  United  States 
Army  or  Navy  shall  be  considered  a  resident  of  this  State,  by  reason  of  being 
stationed  therein  :  And  provided  also,  t'hz.\.X\\&  following  persons  shall  be  ex- 
cluded from  voting : 

First— Idiots  and  lunatics. 

Second— Persons  convicted  of  bribery  in  any  election,  embezzlement  of 
public  funds,  treason,  felony  or  petit  larceny. 

Third— No  person  who,  while  a  citizen  of  this  State,  has,  since  the  adoption 

*Const.  of  Virginia,  1870,  as  amended,  1876 


140  VOTING   QUALIFICATIOI^S. 

of  this  Constitution,  fought  a  duel  with  a  deadly  weapon,  sent  or  accepted  a 
challenge  to  fight  a  duel  with  a  deadly  weapon,  either  within  or  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  this  State,  or  knowingly  conveyed  a  challenge,  or  aided  or 
assisted  in  any  manner  in  fighting  a  duel,  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  any 
office  of  honor,  profit,  or  trust,  under  this  Constitution. 


II.  VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS  IN   THE 
TERRITORIES. 

Congress  has  provided  the  Territories  with  an  uniform, 
electoral  law  specifying  who  shall  be  voters  and  who  shall 
not  enjoy  the  right  of  suffrage,  leaving  other  qualifications 
of  voters  to  be  prescribed  by  the  Legislative  Assembly. 

(i)  Section  I859.  Every"  male  citizen  above  the  age  of  twenty-one,  in- 
cluding persons  who  have  legally  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens 
in  any  Territory  hereafter  organized,  and  who  are  actual  residents  of  such 
Territory  at  the  time  of  the  organization  thereof,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at 
the  first  election  in  such  Territory,  and  shall  hold  any  office  therein,  sub- 
ject, nevertheless,  to  the  limitations  specified  in  the  next  section. 

Sec.  i860.  At  all  subsequent  elections,  however,  in  any  Territory  hereaf- 
ter organized  by  Congress,  as  well  as  at  any  elections  in  Territories  already 
organized  the  qualifications  of  voters  and  of  holding  office  shall  be  such  as 
may  be  prescribed  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  such  Territory,  subject, 
nevertheless,  to  the  following  restrictions  on  the  power  of  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly, namely  : 

First.  The  right  of  suffrage  and  of  holding  office  shall  be  exercised  only 
by  citizens  of  the  United  States  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  by 
those  above  that  age  who  have  declared  on  oath,  before  a  competent  court  of 
record,  their  intention  to  become  such,  and  have  taken  an  oath  to  support 
the  Constitution  and  Government  of  the  United  States. 

Second.  There  shall  be  no  denial  of  the  elective  franchise,  or  of  holding 
office,  to  a  citizen  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  ser- 
vitude. 

Third;  No  officer,  soldier,  seaman,  mariner,  or  other  person  in  the  Army 
or  Navy,  or  attached  to  troops  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  al- 

(i)Rev.  Stats.  U.  S. 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  I41 

lowed  to  vote  in  any  Territory;  by  reason  of  being  on  service  therein,  unless 
such  Territory  is,  and  has  been  for  the  past  six  months,  his  permanent  domi- 
cile. 

Fourth.     No  person  belonging  to  the  Army  or  Navy  shall  be  elected  to  or 
hold  any  civil  office  or  appointment  in  any  Territory. 


III.    THE  DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. 

The  District  of  Columbia  is  the  seat  of  the  General 
Government,  as  provided  for  in  the  Federal  Constitution. 
Politically,  it  is  a  unique  structure  in  the  Federal  organ- 
ism. It  has  a  separate  and  distinct  being  and  purpose , 
but  it  has  no  independent  power  or  action.  It  has  no 
political  representation,  nor  has  it  any  voice  in  shaping 
its  government.  The  Federal  Constitution  places  it  un- 
der the  control  of  the  Congress  which  exercised  it  in  a 
direct  way  prior  to  February  21,  1871.  On  that  date, 
Congress  passed  an  act  repealing  the  charters  of  George- 
town and  Washington,  and  transferring  all  their  prop- 
erty, and  the  property  of  the  outlying  territory  called 
the  county  of  Washington,  to  the  District,  and  providing 
the  District  with  a  territorial  form  of  government,  con- 
sisting of  a  Governor  appointed  by  the  President,  and 
a  I^egislative  Assembly,  and  a  Delegate  to  Congress 
elected  by  the  people.  Under  this  act,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  District  were  given  the  right  of  suffrage,  the 
qualifications  of  voters  being  thus  defined : 

Section  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  all  male  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  shall  have  been  ac- 
tual residents  of  said  District  for  three  months  prior  to  the  passage  of  this 
act,  except  such  as  are  non  compos  mentis,  and  persons  convicted  of  infamous 
crimes,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  said  election,  in  the  election  district  or 
precinct  in  which  he  shall  then  reside,  and  shall  have  so  resided  for  thirty 


14-2  VOTING    QUALIFICATIONS. 

days  immediately  preceding  said  election,  and  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office 
within  the  said  District,  and  for  all  subsequent  elections,  twel\-e  months' 
prior  residence  shall  be  required  to  constitute  a  voter ;  but  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly shall  have  no  right  to  abridge  or  limit  the  right  of  suffrage. 

The  territorial  existence  of  the  District  was  short- 
lived, for  on  June  20,  1874,  Congress  passed  an  act  re- 
pealing the  act  of  1 87 1,  so  far  as  it  provided  for  an  Exec- 
utive, a  Secretary  of  the  District,  a  Legislative  Assembly, 
a  Board  of  Public  Works  and  a  Delegate  to  Congress  ; 
in  other  words,  all  the  machinery  of  a  territorial  govern- 
ment. With  this  change,  the  right  of  suffrage  was 
taken  away  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  District.  It 
was  transformed  by  an  act  of  June  11,  1878,  into  a  mu- 
nicipal corporation  governed  by  a  Commission  consisting 
of  two  civilians  appointed  by  the  President,  and  an  offi- 
cer of  the  corps  of  the  United  States  Engineers  specially 
detailed  for  that  duty.  This  Commission  performs  exec- 
utive functions  and  Congress  provides  the  necessary  leg- 
islation for  the  District ;  but  the  District  has  had  no  rep- 
resentation in  Congress  since  the  expiration  of  the  term 
of  the  Delegate  holding  a  seat  at  the  time  of  the  passage 
of  the  act  of  1874.  Public  representations  and  office 
holders  residing  in  the  District  retain  a  voting  residence 
in  the  State  whence  they  come,  and  they  may  exercise 
the  right  of  suffi-age  by  visiting  their  respective  voting 
precincts  ;  but  Federal  citizens  residing  in  the  District 
who  are  not  in  the  service  of  the  Federal  government  or 
of  any  State,  do  not  enjoy  the  elective  franchise. 


VOTING  QUAI.IFICATIONS.  1 43 

IV.  ANALYSIS  OF  VOTING  QUALIFICA- 
TIONS. 


'It  has  already  been  explained  that  the  "  right  to  vote  " 
and  "citizenship"  are  not  synonymous  terms.  There 
is  only  one  State  in  the  Union  in  which  an  almost  perfect 
synonymy  occurs,  namely,  in  Wyoming,  where  the  suffrage 
is  extended  to  citizens  of  both  sexes^  but  the  right  to  vote 
there  is  qualified  by  the  Constitutional  requirement  that 
the  citizen  shall  be  able  to  read  the  organic  law  of  the 
State,  unless  prevented  from  doing  so  by  physical  dis- 
ability, such  as  blindness  or  loss  of  the  power  of  speech. 
In  twenty-six  of  the  States,  the  right  of  suffrage  is  restricted 
to  adult  male  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  in  ten 
States  property  or  educational  (or  both)  qualifications  are 
required  of  the  voter.  In  some  of  these  States,  however, 
the  right  of  suffrage  which  was  acquired  by  foreigners 
under  previous  Constitutions,  or  under  the  act  of  conver- 
sion from  a  Territory  to  a  State,  is  confirmed  under  exist- 
ing Constitutions.  Disregarding  this  exceptional  feature, 
there  are  only  twenty-seven  of  the  forty-four  States  consti- 
tuting the  Federal  Union,  in  which  there  exists  an  ap- 
proximate synonymy  between  ' '  citizenship  ' '  and  the 
''  right  of  suffrage."  In  the  remaining  seventeen  States 
there  is  no  special  relationship  between  citizenship  and 
the  suffrage,  for,  in  each  one  of  them,  men  who  are  not  citi- 
zens, being  of  foreign  birth  and  owing  allegiance  to  a 


144  VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

foreign  government,   have  equal  rights  at  the  polls  witk 
native   and   naturalized   citizens   of  the   United   States. 
These  aliens  are  required  in  some  of  the  States  to  declare 
their  intention  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  be- 
fore they  are  endowed  with  the  right  of  suffrage  ;  but  iu 
"others,  it  is  not  deemed  necessary  that  the  alien  seeking 
the  privilege  shall  even  go  through  this  formula,  in  order 
to  receive  it.     Such  aliens  are  constituted  electors  of  the 
State,  and  are  possessed  of  the  ' '  qualifications  requisite 
for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch   of  the  State 
Legislature, ' '  and,  as  such,  empowered  under  the  Federal 
Constitution  to  vote  for  members  of  the  National  House  of 
Representatives  and  for  Presidential  electors ;  and  in  some 
States  these  alien  electors  are  privileged  to  become  mem- 
bers of  the  State  Legislature  (i).     It  is  possible,  there- 
fore,   in  those  States  where  the  privilege  of  voting  is 
granted  to   alien  residents,  and  in  which  the  number  of 
foreign  residents  is  large,  for  the  votes  of  aliens  to  deter- 
mine the  result  in  the  election  of  Representatives  to  the 
Lower  House  of  Congress  and  of  Presidential  electors, 
and  to  determine  also   the  political  complexion   of  the 
State  Legislature,  and  thus  indirectly  influence  the  elec- 
tion of  United  States  Senators.    It  frequently  occurs  that 
this  anomaly  in  the  qualifications  of  State  electors  ex- 
ists in  States  bordering  on  one  another.     In  one  of  these 
States,  an  alien  resident  may  exercise  the  right   of  au 
elector  without  ever  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  neutralizing  the  vote  of  a  Federal  citizen  on  all 

(i)  See  chapter  911  "  OflSce  holding  and  the  Elective  Franchise." 


VOTING   QUALIFICATIONS.  1^5 

questions  submitted  for  settlement  to  the  popular  vote, 
so  long  as  his  residence  within  the  State  is  undisturbed  ; 
but  should  he  cross  the  border  and  establish  his  residence 
in  the  neighboring  State,  he  at  once  ceases  to  be  an  elec- 
tor and  is  unable  to  exercise  any  of  the  privileges  of  an 
elector,  unless  he  becomes  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
by  due  process  of  law.  For  instance,  an  alien  resident 
who  is  an  elector  in  Oregon,  by  a  change  of  residence  in- 
to the  neighboring  State  of  Nevada  or  California,  forfeits 
his  electorship  until  such  time  as  he  may  become  a  Fed- 
eral citizen  by  naturalization.  These  differences  can 
never  be  eradicated  until  the  several  States  shall  have 
adopted  uniform  qualifications  "  for  electors  of  the  most 
numerous  branch  of  the  State  I^egislature, ' '  based  upon 
birth  and  the  "uniform  rule  of  naturalization"  estab- 
lished by  Congress. 

Elections  in  all  the  States  and  Territories  are  deter- 
mined by  ballot.  In  this  respect,  uniformity  prevails 
throughout  the  country.  But  in  the  size,  color,  composi- 
tion, preparation  and  deposition  of  the  ballot  by  quali- 
fied voters,  great  dissimilarity  exists  between  the  several 
States.  These  features  in  the  ballots  used  by  voters  are 
due  to  the  independent  action  of  each  State  or  Territorial 
Legislature. 

The  object  of  voting  by  ballot  is  to  protect  the  voter's 
freedom  of  action  from  interference,  or  the  disclosure  of 
the  nature  of  his  vote.  But  the  election  laws  of  some 
States  have  been  so  framed  that  the  object  of  the  ballot 
is  defeated.     Of  recent  years  public  opinion  has  favored 


146  VOTING  QUALIFICATIONS. 

ballot-reform,  and  the  agitation  has  been  vigorous  enough 
to  induce  thirty-four  States  to  adopt  a  secret  system,  which 
promises  ample  protection  to  the  voter.  This  system  is 
known  as  the  Australian  system,  from  the  fact  that  it 
originated  in  that  country.  None  of  the  thirty-four 
States  which  have  adopted  it,  have,  however,  adhered 
strictly  to  the  original  plan.  Kach  State  has  modified  it 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Massachusetts  was  the  first 
of  the  States  to  adopt  it,  which  occurred  in  1888.  In  the 
following  year  Connecticut,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Minne- 
sota, Montana,  Rhode  Island,  Tennessee  and  Wisconsin 
adopted  it.  Maryland,  Mississippi,  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  Vermont,  Washington  and  Wyoming  fell  in 
line  in  1890,  and  the  system  was  adopted  in  1891  by 
Arkansas,  California,  Colorado,  Delaware,  Idaho,  Illi- 
nois, Kentucky,  Maine,  Nebraska,  New  Hampshire, 
North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,  South 
Dakota,  Texas  and  West  Virginia. 

The  system  has  worked  with  varied  success  in  the  sev- 
eral States  that  have  adopted  it  (i).  It  has  been  most  suc- 
cessful in  those  States  which  have  adhered  most  closely 
to  the  plan  in  vogue  in  the  English  colonies  whence  it 
originated.  But  it  has  been  sufficiently  successful  every- 
where to  demonstrate  that  it  is  a  great  improvement  on 
the  old  plan  of  balloting,  and  other  States  than  those 
named  above  are  likely  to  adopt  it  ultimately. 

(1)  The  Forum  for  January,  1892. 


OFFICE-HOLDING   QUAI.IFICATIONS.  1 47 

V.   OFFICE -HOLDING  AND  THE  ELECT- 
IVE  FRANCHISE. 


Office-holding  and  the  elective  franchise  are  intimately- 
associated  with  one  another.  The  exercise  of  the  suf- 
frage is  really  the  origin  of  office-holding.  But  the  right 
to  exercise  the  functions  of  an  elector  does  not  imply  the 
right  to  hold  office.  In  many  of  the  States  there 
is  -no  correlation  between  office-holding  and  voting, 
for  aliens  may  be  invested  with  the  right  of  suffrage 
and  denied  the  right  to  hold  office.  In  other  States 
correlation  exists  in  a  more  or  less  modified  degree.  In 
some  States  the  right  to  vote  means  the  right  to  hold  any 
office  in  the  gift  of  the  State,  to  the  absolute  exclusion 
of  non-voters.  Some  State  Constitutions  disqualify  from 
the  right  of  office-holding  persons  convicted  of  stated 
offenses  or  participants  in  duels,  without  interfering  with 
their  right  to  vote.  In  other  States,  the  Constitutional 
disqualification  for  these  offenses  applies  to  both  voting 
and  office-holding.  In  some  States,  women  are  given 
the  right  to  hold  office,  disqualifying  them  from  only  such 
offices  as  are  specially  provided  for  in  the  Constitution 
for  the  exclusive  enjoyment  of  men,  while  the  right  to 
vote  is  denied  them  in  toto.  In  other  States,  women  are 
qualified  to  vote  at  all  elections  and  to  hold  any  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  State.  In  some  States,  women  are  not  quali- 
fied to  vote  for  any  officer  or  any  measure,  except  such  as 
pertain  to  the  public  schools,  and  they  are  given   the 


148  OFFICK-HOI.DING    QUALIFICATIONS. 

right  to  hold  such  offices  only  as  the  Constitution  gives 
them  the  right  to  vote  upon.  In  other  States,  women  must 
be  taxpayers  to  be  able  to  vote,  but  they  cannot  vote  ex- 
cept on  measures  affecting  taxpayers,  and  they  are  de- 
nied absolutely  the  right  to  hold  any  office  ;  in  other 
States,  they  are  denied  the  right  to*  vote  for  any  office  or 
measure  submitted  to  the  electors,  but  are  given  the  right 
to  hold  certain  offices  named,  usually  offices  connected 
with  the  management  of  the  public  schools. 
"^  The  Constitution  of  Alabama  (1875)  grants  the  right 
of  suffrage  to  aliens,  who  have  declared  their  intention 
to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  ;  but  the  offices  of 
Governor  (Art.  V,  Sec.  6),  of  Secretary  of  State,  State 
Treasurer,  State  Auditor  and  Attorney  General  (Art.  V, 
Sec.  19),  and  of  Judges  of  the  Supreme  and  Circuit 
Courts,  Chancellors  and  Judges  of  City  Courts  (Art  VI, 
Sec.  14),  are  restricted  to  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
All  other  offices  in  the  State  and  membership  in  either  of 
the  two  Houses  of  the  State  Legislature,  are  open  to  all 
-^-citizens  of  the  State  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  4),  and  aliens  are 
State  citizens  (Art.  I,  Sec.  2).  It  is  specially  provided 
that  no  religious  test  shall  be  required  as  a  qualification 
to  any  office  (Art.  I,  Sec.  4)  ;  nor  shall  any  educational 
or  property  qualification  be  placed  upon  the  right  to  hold 
office  (Art.  I,  Sec.  38)  ;  but  the  holding  of  office  is  de- 
pendent upon  good  behavior  (Art.  I,  Sec.  30),  and  no 
person  convicted  of  embezzlement  of  public  money, 
bribery,  perjury,  or  other  infamous  crime  shall  be  eligible 
to  or  capable  of  holcing  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  (Art. 


OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS.  1 49 

IV,  Sees.  i8,  40,  41).  Persons  holding  offices  of  profit 
under  the  United  States  (Postmasters  receiving  a  salary 
of  $200  per  year,  excepted),  are  disqualified  to  hold  any 
office  of  profit  under  the  State,  and  holding  two  offices  of 
profit  under  the  State  is  prohibited,  excepting  in  the  case 
of  Justices  of  the  Peace,  Constables,  Notaries  Public  and 
Commissioners  of  Deeds  (Art.  XVI,  Sec.  i),  and  the 
same  rule  applies  in  many  other  States. 

The  Constitution  of  Arkansas  (1874)  requires  every 
office  holder  to  be  a  qualified  elector  (Art.  XIX,  Sec.  3), 
and  aliens  who  have  simply  declared  their  intention  to 
become  citizens  are  made  electors  (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  i). 
But  an  alien  elector  is  specially  debarred  from  holding 
the  office  of  Governor  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  5)  ;  or  of  any  judi- 
cial office  (Art.  VII,  Sees.  6,  16  and  29)  ;  or  of  Pros- 
•ecuting  Attorney  of  the  Circuit  Courts  (Art.  VII,  Sec. 
24),  but  not  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  (Art.  VII,  Sec.  41). 
And  an  alien  elector  is  denied  the  right  to  sit  in  either 
branch  of  the  State  Legislature  (Art.  V,  Sec.  i).  The 
organic  law  of  the  State  prohibits  a  religious  test 
as  a  qualification  of  office-holding  (Art.  II,  Sec.  26), 
but  denies  the  right  to  hold  an  office  in  the  civil 
■department  of  the  State  to  any  person  who  denies 
the  being  of  God  (Art.  XIX,  Sec.  i).  Participation  in 
3,  duel  (Art.  XIX,  Sec.  2)  and  conviction  of  fraud,  brib- 
ery, or  other  wilful  and  corrupt  violation  of  any  election 
law  (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  6),  embezzlement  of  public  money, 
bribery,  forgery,  or  other  infamous  crime  (Art.  V,  Sec. 
9),  disqualifies  the  guilty  person  from  holding  any  office 


150  OFFICE-HOI.DING  QUALIFICATIONS. 

in  the  State.  Members  of  either  House  of  the  State  Leg- 
islature are  disqualified,  during  their  term  of  office,  from 
appointment  or  election  to  any  civil  office  under  the 
State  (Art.  V,  Sec.  10) ;  and  the  holding  of  more  than 
one  office  in  the  same  department  of  the  State  govern- 
ment, except  as  expressly  directed  or  permitted  by  the 
Constitution,  is  prohibited  (Art.  XIX,  Sec.  6). 

In  California,  the  elective  franchise  is  restricted  to  cit- 
izens of  the  United  States,  but  the  Constitution  is  silent 
on  the  qualifications  of  office-holding,  excepting  that  the 
Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor  shall  have  been  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  and  residents  of  the  State  five 
years  next  preceding  their  election  (Art.  V,  Sees.  3  and 
15)  and  the  judiciary  (Supreme  and  Superior  Courts) 
shall  have  been  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  23).  It  prohibits,  however, 
any  property  qualification  being  established  for  office- 
holding  or  the  right  to  vote  (Art.  I,  Sec.  24),  and  it 
makes  ineligible  to  any  civil  office  of  profit,  persons  hold- 
ing any  lucrative  offices  under  the  United  States  or  any 
other  power  (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  20),  and  to  any  office  of  profit, 
honor  or  trust  any  person  convicted  of  embezzlement 
or  defalcation  of  the  public  funds  of  the  United  States,  or 
of  any  State,  or  of  any  county  or  municipality  therein 
(Art.  Ill,  Sec.  21)  ;  and  it  disqualifies  from  holding  any 
office  of  profit  every  person  convicted  of  having  given  or 
offered  a  bribe  to  procure  his  election  or  appointment 
(Art.  XX,  Sec.  10),  or  who  may  have  participated  in  a 
duel  (Art.  XX.  Sec.  2).     The  term  of  office  of  any  officer 


OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS.  151 

is  not  to  be  extended  beyond  the  period  for  which  he  has 
been  elected  or  appointed  (Art.  XI,  Sec.  9).  To  cover 
the  omission  in  the  Constitution  as  to  the  qualifications 
of  office-holding,  some  cities  have  incorporated  in  their 
charters  a  clause  restricting  the  right  to  hold  office  under 
the  municipality  to  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Colorado  has  made  the  qualifications  of  a  voter  and  an 
office-holder  the  same,  by  providing  that  no  person  ex- 
.cept  a  qualified  elector  (and  an  alien  may  be  an  elector) 
shall  be  elected  or  appointed  to  any  civil  or  military  of- 
fice in  the  State  (Art.  VII,  Sec.  6,  Const.  1876),  except 
in  the  case  of  school  district  elections  and  offices,  to 
which  women  have  equal  rights  with  men  (Art.  VII, 
Sec.  I,  Subd.  2).  County  offices  are  governed  by  the 
same  rule  of  eligibility  (Art.  XIV,  Sec.  10),  and  any  per- 
son convicted  of  embezzlement  of  public  moneys,  bribery, 
perjury,  solicitation  of  bribery,  or  subornation  of  perjury, 
is  ineligible  to  the  General  Assembly  and  disqualified 
from  holding  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  in  the  State 
(Art.  XII,  Sec.  4). 

Connecticut  alsa  confines  eligibility  to  office  to  electors 
(Art.  VI,  Sec.  4,  Const.  1818),  except  as  otherwise  spe- 
cially provided  in  the  Constitution  ;  but  all  electors  in 
that  State  are  Federal  citizens. 

Delaware  prohibits  any  religious  test  as  a  qualification 
to  any  office  or  public  trust  in  the  State  (Art.  I.  Sec.  2, 
Const,  of  1 83 1 ),  and  no  property  qualification  shall  be  neces- 
sary to  the  holding  of  any  office,  except  the  office  of  Sena- 
tor in  the  General  Assembly,  and  the  office  of  Assessor,  In- 


152  OFFICE  HOLDING    QUALIFICATIONS. 

quisitor  on  land,  and  levy-court  Commissioner,  and  such 
officers  as  the  General  Assembly  may  designate  by  law 
(Art.  VII,  Sec.  12).  But  the  Constitution  contains  no 
specific  definition  of  what  constitutes  the  qualifications 
of  office-holding  in  its  relationship  to  Federal  citizenship, 
except  in  the  case  of  the  Governor,  who  is  required  to  be 
at  least  thirty  years  of  age,  a  citizen  and  inhabitant  of 
the. United  States  twelve  years,  and  at  least  six  years  of 
that  term  a  resident  of  the  State  (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  4).  No 
ordained  clergymen  or  ordained  preacher  of  the  gospel  of 
any  denomination  is  capable  of  holding  any  civil  office  in 
the  State,  or  of  being  a  member  of  either  branch  of  the 
Legislature  so  long  as  he  continues  to  perform  his  pro- 
fessional functions  (Art.  VII,  Sec.  8). 

Every  State  officer  in  the  service  of  Florida  is  required 
to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  and  to 
the  State,  thus  constituting  Federal  citizenship  an  essen- 
tial qualification  of  office-holding  as  well  as  of  voting, 
and  subjecting  one  to  the  same  disabilities  and  penalties 
as  the  other. 

The  elective  franchise  is  given  by  the  Georgia  Consti- 
tution of  1877,  to  male  citizens  of  the  United  States  onb^ 
(Art.  II,  Sec.  i,  Par.  2),  and  those  disabilities  which 
disqualify  an  elector  from  exercising  the  right  to  vote 
disqualify  him  also  from  the  right  to  hold  office  (Art.  II, 
Sec.  2,  Par.  i,  Sec  IV,  Paragraphs  i  and  2)  ;  but  there  is 
an  implication  in  the  Bill  of  Rights  (Art.  I,  Sec.  i,  Par. 
13)  that  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  did  not  intend 
that  office-holding  should  be  restricted  entirely  to  quali- 


OFFICE- HOIvDING   QUALIFICATIONS.  153 

fied  electors.  It  declares  that  ' '  no  inhabitant ' '  of  the 
State  shall  be  molested  in  person  or  property,  or  prohib- 
ited from  holding  an}'  public  ofl&ce  or  trust,  on  account  of 
his  religious  opinions.  However,  the  same  Bill  or  Rights 
correlates  State  and  Federal  citizenship  (Art.  I.  Sec.  i. 
Par.  25).  The  Constitution  makes  citizenship  an  essen- 
tial qualification  for  State  ofiicers  and  judiciary,  with  ad- 
ditional residence  qualifications  ;  and  eligibility  to  any 
county  office  involves  the  qualifications  of  an  elector  and 
two  years  residence  (Art.  XI,  Sec.  2).  Intelligence,  up- 
rightness and  the  payment  of  taxes  constitute  the  qualifi- 
cations of  county  and  petit  grand  jurors  (Sec.  3910,  Code 
ofGa.,  1882);  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  Constitution 
or  in  the  Code  that  disqualifies  an  alien  possessing  the 
virtues  named  from  lawfully  serving  on  a  grand  or  petit 
jury  in  Georgia.  Under  the  Constitution  of  1868,  Fed- 
eral citizens,  bom  or  naturalized,  were  declared  to  be 
citizens  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  they  only  ;  but  a 
male  person  who  legally  declared  his  intention  to  become 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  and  had  resided  in  the 
State  six  months,  was  a  qualified  elector,  although  not 
a  State  citizen  and  not  qualified  to  hold  office.  That 
curious  political  complication  does  not,  however,  exist 
tinder  the  Constitution  of  1877. 

The  right  of  voting  in  Idaho  is  restricted  to  adult 
male  citizens  of  the  United  States  ;  but  the  Constitution 
of  1889  does  not  define  office-holding  qualifications,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  members  of  the  Legislature  (Art.  II, 
Sec.    6),    Governor,   Lieutenant-Governor^,  Secretary    of 


154  OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

State,  State  Auditor,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, State  Treasurer,  Attorney -General  (Art.  IV,  Sec. 
3),  and  Judges  of  the  District  Courts  (Art.  V,  Sec.  23)  ; 
but  as  to  all  other  ofl&cers  the  Constitution  is  silent.  It  is 
provided,  however,  that  no  property  qualification  shall 
ever  be  required  from  any  person  to  vote  or  hold  office,  ex- 
cept in  school  elections  or  elections  creating  indebtedness 
(Art.  I,  Sec.  28).  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  are  in- 
eligible to  any  other  office  of  trust  or  profit  during  the  term 
for  which  elected  (Art.  V,  Sec.  7).  The  same  mental  and 
criminal  disabilities  attach  to  office-holding  and  voting 
alike,  and  Chinese — persons  of  Mongolian  descent  not 
bom  in  the  United  States — and  Indians  not  taxed  who 
have  not  severed  tribal  relations  and  adopted  civilized 
habits  are  expressly  disqualified  from  exercising  the  elec- 
tive franchise  and  enjoying  the  right  to  hold  civil  office 
(Art.  VI,  Sec.  3). 

In  Illinois,  no  person  can  be  elected  or  appointed  to 
any  office  in  the  State,  civil  or  military,  who  is  not  a 
Federal  citizen  and  one  year  a  resident  of  the  State 
(Const.  1870,  Art.  VII,  Sec.  6).  Nor  is  any  person  con- 
victed of  bribery,  perjury,  or  other  infamous  crime,  or 
who  may  be  a  collector  or  holder  of  public  moneys  who 
shall  not  have  accounted  for  and  paid  over,  according  to 
law,  all  such  moneys  due  from  him,  eligible  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  or  to  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  in  the 
State  (Art.  IV,  Sec.  4),  and  this  provision  figures  in  the 
Constitutions  of  many  other  States. 

In  Indiana,  persons  of  foreign  birth  and  allegiance,  w^ho 


OFFICK-HOI^DING   QUAI.IFICATIONS.  1 55 

have  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  have  the  right  of  suffrage,  but  they  are 
ineligible  to  any  office  unless  they  can  take  an  oath  or 
affirmation  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  State  and 
of  the  United  States,  and  also  an  oath  of  office  (Art. 
XV,  Sec.  4,  Const,  of  1851).  And  no  person  shall  be 
elected  or  appointed  as  a  county  officer  who  shall  not  be 
an  elector  of  the  county,  and  a  resident  thereof  one  year 
preceding  his  appointment,  if  the  county  shall  have  been 
organized  that  length  of  time;  if  not,  in  that  event,  he  shall 
have  been  a  resident  one  year  within  the  limits  of  the 
county  out  of  which  the  new  county  shall  have  been 
taken  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  4).  But  no  person  elected  to  a 
judicial  office  shall,  during  his  term,  be  eligible  to  any 
other  office  of  trust  or  profit  in  the  State,  other  than  a 
judicial  office  (Art.  VII,  Sec.  i6).  The  Governor  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  are  also  ineligible  to  any  other 
office  during  the  term  for  which  they  have  been  elected 
(Art.  V,  Sec.  24),  and  the  Governor  is  ineligible  for  more 
than  four  years  in  any  period  of  eight  years  (Art.  V, 
Sec.  i),  while  both  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor must  each  have  been  five  years  Federal  citizens  and 
residents  of  the  State  preceding  the  time  of  election,  and 
thirty  years  of  age  (Art.  V,  Sec.  7).  The  State  Secre- 
tary, State  Auditor  and  State  Treasurer  are  elected  for  a 
term  of  two  years,  but  they  are  ineligible  to  their  re- 
spective offices  more  than  four  years  in  any  period  of  six 
years  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  i). 

Male  Federal  citizens  only  are  voters  in  Iowa,  and 


156  OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

every  person  elected  or  appointed  to  office  must  swear' 
fealty  to  the  United  States  and  the  State  before  entering 
on  his  official  duties  (Art.  XI,  Sec.  5). 

The  Constitution  of  Kansas  limits  voting  to  Federal 
citizens  of  the  United  States  and  office-holding,  except 
in  the  case  of  officers  specially  named  (whether  by  election 
or  appointment),  to  be  pi  escribed  by  the  State  I^egisla- 
ture  (Art.  XV,  Sec.  i). 

While  the  Constitution  of  Kentucky,  1850,  gives  the 
right  of  suffirage  to  "every  free  male  citizen,"  it  con- 
tains no  inherent  definition  of  the  word  "  citizen."  The 
courts  have,  however,  given  it  the  broad  and  compre- 
hensive interpretation  of  ''citizen  of  the  United  States." 
(See  note,  page  1 25.)  Eligibility  to  hold  office  in  the  State 
is  confined,  in  the  case  of  executive  and  ministerial  offi- 
cers for  counties  and  districts,  to  persons  tw^enty-four 
years  of  age  (Clerks  of  County  and  Circuit  Courts, 
Sheriffs,  Constables  and  County  Attorneys,  are  eli- 
gible at  twenty-one),  citizens  of  the  United  States,  resi- 
dents in  the  State  two  years  and  in  the  county  or  dis- 
trict one  year  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  2).  The  Attorney  for  the 
Commonwealth  or  for  the  county  must  be  a  licensed 
practitioner  of  two  years'  standing  (Id.).  But  a  Sheriff 
is  handicapped  with  ineligibility  for  a  second  term,  or  to 
act  as  a  deputy  for  his  immediate  successor  (Art.  VI, 
Sec.  4).  Conviction  of  offering  or  giving  any  bribe  or 
of  treating  to  procure  an  election,  disqualifies  the  culprit 
from  holding  any  office  (Art.  VIII,  Sec.  3).  Partici- 
pation in  a  duel,  either  as  principal  or  as  accessory  be- 


OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS.  1 57 

fore  the  fact,  is  an  official  disqualification.  No  member 
of  Congress,  or  person  holding  or  exercising  the  duties 
of  a  Federal  office,  or  under  any  foreign  power,  is  eligible 
to  any  State  office  (Art.  VIII,  Sec.  18).  Nor  is  a  minis- 
ter of  any  religious  society  eligible  to  the  office  of  Gov- 
ernor (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  6)  ;  and  no  person,  while  he  con- 
tinues to  exercise  the  functions  of  a  clergyman,  priest  or 
teacher  of  any  religious  persuasion,  society  or  sect,  nor 
while  he  holds  or  exercises  any  office  of  profit  under  the 
Commonwealth,  or  under  the  Federal  Government,  is  eli- 
gible to  the  General  Assembly  (Art.  II,  Sec.  27),  and 
any  collector  of  taxes  or  public  moneys  for  the  State,  or 
the  assistant  or  deputy  of  such  collector,  is  ineligible  to 
the  General  Assembly  unless  he  has  received  a 
' '  quietus, ' '  six  months  before  the  election,  for  his  collec- 
tions and  all  public  moneys  for  which  he  may  have  been 
responsible  (Art.  II,  Sec.  28).  State  Senators  must  be 
thirty  years  of  age  and  six  years  residents  of  the  State. 
The  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  must  be  thirty- 
five  years  of  age;  but  neither  is  eligible  to  serve  in  such 
capacity  two  sucessive  terms.  A  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  or  of  the  Circuit  Court,  must  be  thirty  years  of 
age  and  a  practitioner  before  the  bar  eight  years,  or  eight 
years  a  practitioner  and  Judge  of  a  court  of  record,  and 
two  years  a  resident  of  the  district  (Art.  IV,  Sees.  8  and 
22)  ;  but  a  Judge  of  the  County  Court  may  be  barely 
over  twenty -one,  and  a  resident  of  the  county  only  one 
year  preceding  his  election  (Art.  IV,  Sec.  32). 

In  Louisiana,  the  qualifications  of  an  elector  consti- 


158  office;- HOI.DING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

tute  office-holding  qualifications,  except  where  otherwise 
specially  provided  for  in  the  Constitution  (Art.  195, 
Const.  1879),  and  a  person  of  foreign  birth  who  has  de- 
clared his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  is  an  elector 
(Art.  185),  and  what  disqualifies  an  elector  from  voting 
disqualifies  him  from  office-holding  (Art.  187). 

Federal  citizenship  is  a  prerequisite  of  voting  in  the 
State  of  Maine  and  it  is  a  prerequisite  also  of  office-hold- 
ing. But  it  does  not  qualify  an  elector  for  every  office 
in  the  gift  of  the  State.  No  Federal  citizen  of  foreign 
birth  can,  under  the  Constitution  of  1820,  be  Governor, 
no  matter  how  his  citizenship  may  have  been  acquired 
or  how  long  he  may  have  resided  in  the  State.  That 
office  is  reserved  exclusively  for  natural-born  citizens 
(Art.  V,  Part  ist,  Sec.  4);  and  any  person  holding  a  Fed- 
eral office,  even  though  he  be  a  native-born,  is  bar- 
red from  the  Governorship  (Id.,  Sec.  5).  The  Governor 
has  an  Advisory  Board  or  Council  of  seven,  chosen  by 
the  State  Legislature;  but  members  of  Congress  or  of  the 
State  Legislature  and  any  person  holding  office  under  the 
United  States  (Postmasters  excepted),  or  any  civil  office 
under  the  State  (Justices  of  the  Peace  and  Notaries  ex- 
cepted), are  ineligible  to  the  office  of  Councillor  (Art.  V, 
Sees.  I  and  4). 

Maryland,  in  the  Constitution  of  1867,  specially  pro- 
hibits judges  from  having  any  other  office  or  employ- 
ment under  the  State  or  the  United  States  and  from  re- 
ceiving fees  (Art.  33).  Rotation  in  office  in  the  Execu- 
tive Department  is  declared  one  of  the  best  securities  of 


OFFICE-HOIvDING   QUAI.IFICATIONS.  1 59 

permanent  freedom  (Art,  34).  Holding  more  than  one 
office  by  any  one  person  (Art.  35)  and  religious  test  as  a 
qualification  to  vote  or  hold  office,  is  prohibited  (Art. 
35).  Only  citizens  of  the  United  States,  otherwise  quali- 
fied, are  eligible  to  hold  office.  For  Governor,  a  resi- 
dence qualification  of  ten  years  is  required  and  the  age 
limit  is  placed  at  thirty  (Art.  II,  Sec.  5).  Members  of 
the  State  Legislature  must  have  resided  in  the  State  of 
Maryland  for  three  years  preceding  their  election.  A 
member  of  Congress  (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  9),  the  holder  of  a 
Federal  office  or  appointment,  civil  or  military  (Sec.  10), 
ministers  and  preachers  of  any  creed  or  denomination, 
and  holders  of  State  offices,  except  Justices  of  the  Peace 
(Sec.  1 1),  are  ineligible  to  membership  in  the  Legislature, 
and  no  collector,  receiver,  or  holder  of  public  money,  is 
eligible  to  the  Legislature  or  to  any  office  in  the  State, 
until  he  shall  have  made  a  perfect  accounting  (Sec.  12). 
The  resignation  of  a  Senator  or  Delegate  does  not  make 
him  eligible,  during  the  term  for  which  he  has  been 
elected,  to  hold  any  office  created  or  enriched  during  his 
term  (Sec.  17).  Participation  in  a  duel  disqualifies  an 
-elector  from  the  right  of  holding  office  unless  the  Legisla- 
ture removes  the  disability  (Sec.  41). 

Under  the  Constitution  of  1780,  Massachusetts  gave 
the  right  to  vote  and  hold  office  to  any  male  inhabitant, 
and  an  ' '  inhabitant ' '  was  defined  as  meaning  ' '  every 
person  ' '  for  the  purpose  of  electing  or  being  elected  to  of- 
fice who  dwelt  or  had  his  home  in  a  town,  district  or 
plantation.     But  Article  III  of  the-  amendments  to  the 


l6o  OFFICK-HOLDING  QUALIFICATIONS. 

Constitution  adopted  in  1820,  conferred  the  right  of  suf- 
frage on  "everj^  male  citizen  of  twenty-one  5'ears  of  age 
and  upward  who  shall  have  resided  within  the  Common- 
wealth one  year  ;"  but  it  made  no  changes  in  the  eligi- 
bility of  inhabitants  to  office  beyond  providing  in  Art» 
VI  that  '  *  instead  of  the  oath  of  allegiance  prescribed  by 
the  Constitution,  every  person  thereafter  elected  to  office 
should  merely  take  an  oath  to  bear  true  faith  and  alle- 
giance to  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,"  and 
support  its  Constitution,  Quakers  being  by  name  permit- 
ted to  affirm  (Art.  VI).  The  oath  which  this  amend- 
ment displaced  required  the  person  accepting  any  office 
''to  renounce  and  abjure  allegiance,  subjection,  and  obe- 
dience to  the  King,  Queen  or  Government  of  Great  Brit- 
ain (as  the  case  may  be),  and  every  other  power  whatso- 
ever ;  and  that  no  foreign  prince,  person,  prelate,  State 
or  potentate  hath,  or  ought  to  have,  any  jurisdiction, 
superiority,  preeminence,  authority,  dispensing  or  other 
power,  in  any  matter,  civil,  ecclesiastical,  or  spiritual, 
within  this  Commonwealth  ;  except  the  authority  and 
power  which  is  or  may  be  vested  by  their  constituents  in 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  ;  and  I  do  further 
testify  and  declare  that  no  man,  or  body  of  men,  hath  or 
can  have,  any  right  to  absolve  or  discharge  me  from  the 
obligation  of  this  oath,  declaration  or  affirmation  ;  and 
that  I  do  make  this  acknowledgement,  profession,  testi- 
mony, declaration,  denial,  renunciation,  and  abjuration 
heartily  and  truly,  according  to  the  common  meaning- 
and  acceptation  of  the    foregoing    words,  without    any 


OFFICE- HOI^DING   QUALIFICATIONS.  Jj5j 

equivocation,  mental  evasion  or  secret  reservation  what- 
soever" (Chapter  VI,  Art.  i).  In  1857  an  educational 
qualification  as  a  pre-requisite  for  office-holding  and  vot- 
ing, was  engrafted  on  the  Constitution,  and  in  1859  eli- 
gibility to  hold  office  or  to  vote  was  denied  to  Federal 
citizens  of  foreign  birth  for  two  years  after  naturaliza- 
tion. The  latter  was.  however,  annulled  in  1863  by  Con- 
stitutional amendment 

Aliens  and  persons  ineligible  to  Federal  citizenship  by 
the  ordinary  process  of  naturalization — namely,  '  'civilized 
male  inhabitants  of  Indian  descent" — are  qualified  un- 
der the  Constitutional  amendment  adopted  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Michigan  in  1870,  to  vote  at  any  election,  and  the 
only  test  required  as  a  qualification  for  any  office  or  pub- 
lic trust,  except  where  other  qualifications  are  specially 
stated,  is  an  ability  to  subscribe  to  an  oath  or  affirmation 
to.  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Constitution  of  the  State,  and  a  pledge  to  perform  the 
duties  of  office  faithfully  (Art.  XVIII,  Sec.  i).  Two 
years  residence,  five  years  Federal  citizenship  and  being 
thirty  years  of  age  constitute  eligibility  to  the  Governor- 
ship, or  the  office  of  Lieutenant  Governor,  but  neither 
officer  is  eligible  to  any  office  or  appointment  from  the 
Legislature,  or  either  house  thereof,  during  the  time  for 
which  he  is  elected,  and  all  votes  cast  for  either  is  void 
(Art.  V,  Sec.  16). 

Eligibility  to  vote  constitutes  eligibility  to  any  office  in 
■  Minnesota  (Art.  VII,  Sec.  7,  Const.  1857),  and  aliens 
.  who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens  of 


1 62  OFFICB-HOI.DING  QUALIFICATIONS. 

the  United  States,  persons  of  mixed  white  and  Indian 
blood  who  have  adopted  the  customs  and  habits  of  civil- 
ization, and  civilized  Indian  residents,  who,  after  exami- 
nation by  a  District  Court,  shall  be  pronounced  capable 
of  enjoying  the  rights  of  citizenship  within  the  State, 
are  eligible  to  vote  (Art.  VII,  Sec.  i,  Const.  Amendt. 
1868).  In  1875  the  Constitution  was  amended  so  as  to 
permit  women  to  vote  at  any  election  relating  to  schools 
or  school  officers,  and  to  hold  any  office  pertaining  only  to 
the  management  of  schools. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  1868,  Mississippi  prohibited 
the  election  or  appointment  to  office  of  any  person  for  life 
or  during  good  behavior  (Art.  I,  Sec.  29),  and  a  property 
qualification  for  eligibility  to  office  was  proscribed  for- 
ever (Art.  I,  Sec.  17).  And  a  qualified  elector  only  was 
eligible  to  any  office  of  trust  or  profit,  or  to  any  office  in 
the  State  Militia  (Art.  VIII,  Sec.  4);  and  adult  male 
citizens  of  the  United  States  only  were  recognized  as 
citizens  of  the  State  (Art.  I,  Sec.  i)  and  given  the  right 
of  suffrage  (Art.  VII,  Sec.  8).  The  disqualifications 
which  applied,  therefore,  to  an  elector,  applied  also  to 
an  office-holder.  On  the  ist  of  November,  1890,  the 
State  of  Mississippi  adopted  a  new  Constitution  which 
divides  the  State  Government  into  three  distinct  depart- 
ments— legislative,  judicial  and  executive— and  declares 
as  a  fundamental  proposition  that  an  acceptance  of  an 
office  in  either  of  these  departments  shall,  of  itself,  and  at 
once,  vacate  any  and  all  offices  held  by  the  person  so  ac- 
cepting office  in  either  of  the  other  departments  (Art.  I, 


OFFICK- HOLDING  QUALIFICATIONS.  1 63 

Sec.  2).     The  Bill  of  Rights  declares  that  Federal  citi- 
zenship and  residence  combined  constitute  State  citizen- 
ship (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  8).     Adult  male  Federal  citizenship 
is  the  standard  of  the  elective  franchise  (Art.  XII,  Sec. 
241),  and  all  qualified  electors  and  no  others  shall  be  eli- 
gible to  office,  except  as  otherwise  provided  in  the  Con- 
stiution   (Art.    XIII,    Sec.    250).      But   the  prohibition 
against  a  property  or  educational  qualification  in  an  elec- 
tor, and  the  prohibition  of  a  property  qualification  for  eli- 
gibility to  office,  which  figured  in  the  Bill  of  Rights  of 
the  Constitution  of  1868,  have  been  abandoned  in  the 
Constitution  of  1890.     It  is,  therefore,  in  the  power  of 
the   Legislature  to  fix  an  educational   and  a   property 
standard  as  a  qualification  of  eligibility  to  office  or   to 
vote.     In  fact,  the  Constitution  itself  provides  that  every 
elector   shall   be   able  to  read   any  section  of  it ;  or  be 
able  to  understand  it  when  it  is  read  to  him,  or  give  a 
reasonable   interpretation  thereof  (Art.   XII,   Sec.   244). 
Denial  of  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being,  conviction 
of  bribery,  perjury,  or  any  infamous  crime,  or  giving,  or 
offering,  directly  or  indirectly,  any   bribe  to  procure  his 
election  or  appointment,  or  of  the  giving  or  offering  of 
any  bribe  to  procure  the  election  or  appointment  of  any 
person  to  office,  is  a  disqualification  for  the  holding  of 
any  office  of  profit  or  trust  in  the  State.     The  Governor 
and  I^ieu tenant- Governor  must  be  at  least  thirty  years  of 
age,  twenty  years  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  five 
years  residents  of  the  State.      One  must  be  a  resident 
freeholder  to  be  a  Supervisor  (Art.  VI,  Sec.   176),  and  a 


1 64  OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

regular  practitioner  five  years  to  be  a  Judge  (Art.  VI, 
Sees.  150,  154).  Personal  devotion  to  the  duties  of  the 
ofiice  is  a  necessary  condition  for  its  retention  (Art. 
•XIV,  Sec.  267).  The  Governor  is  ineligible  to  be  his  im- 
media.te  successor  in  ofiice  (Art.  V,  Sec.  116).  For 
reasonable  cause,  but  which  may  be  insufiicient  ground 
for  impeachment,  the  Governor,  with  the  concurrence  of 
two-thirds  of  each  branch  of  the  Legislature,  may  re- 
move from  ofiice  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior 
Courts  (Art.  IV,  Sec.  53). 

Absolute  freedom  in  religious  matters  is  guaranteed  by 
the  Constitution  of  Missouri,  and  no  religious  belief  can 
interfere  with  any  person's  qualifications  as  an  elector  or 
his  eligibility  to  ofiice  (Art.  II,  Sec.  5),  but  any  collector 
or  receiver  of  public  moneys  must  render  a  satisfactory 
account  of  all  his  obligations  before  he  is  eligible  to  any 
ofiice  in  the  State  (Art.  II,  Sec.  19).  The  right  of  suf- 
frage is  given  to  every  male  person  of  foreign  birth  who 
may  have  declared  his  intention  lo  become  a  citizen  no 
less  than  one  year  and  no  more  than  five  years  before  he 
offers  to  vote  (Art.  VIII,  Sec.  2),  but  no  person  can  be 
elected  or  appointed  to  any  ofiice  in  the  State,  civil  or 
military,  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and 
who  has  not  been  a  resident  of  the  State  one  year  preced- 
ing his  election  or  appointment  (Art.  VIII,  Sec.  12). 
Participants  in  a  duel,  as  principal  or  as  second,  or  as  a 
messenger,  in  or  out  of  the  State,  is  a  bar  to  ofi&ce-hold- 
ing  ;  so  is  holding  any  office  of  profit  under  the  United 
States;  and   in  this  State  Postmasters  are  not  excepted 


OFFICE-HOLDING  QUAI.IFICATIONS.  165 

from  the  ban  of  ineligibility  as  they  are  in  some  of  the 
States. 

The  practice  of  polygamy  is  a  bar  to  voting  and  office- 
holding  in  Montana.  Aside  from  that,  which  is  aimed 
directly  at  the  Mormons,  the  Constitution  (1889)  protects 
everyone  in  the  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious 
profession  and  worship.  The  right  to  vote  and  hold  of- 
fice is  governed  by  the  same  qualifications — Federal  citi- 
zenship— and  denied  by  the  same  disabilities  (Art.  IX, 
Sec.  11),  except  that  women,  who  are  not  electors,  have 
the  right  to  hold  the  office  of  County  Superintendent  of 
Schools  or  any  school  district  office,  and  the  right  to 
vote  at  any  school  district  election  (Art.  IX,  Sec.  10). 

The  Constitution  of  1866-67  of  Nebraska  specially 
qualified  aliens  who  had  declared  their  intention  to  be- 
come citizens  of  the  United  States  conformable  to  the 
laws  of  naturalization,  to  hold  a  seat  in  the  Legislature 
(Art.  II,  Sec.  6),  for  such  aliens  were  made  electors  and 
all  electors  under  the  section  referred  to  were  made  eligi- 
ble to  a  seat.  Under  the  Constitution  of  1875,  such  aliens 
are  still  electors  (Art.  VII,  Sec.  i,  Subd.  2),  but  they  are 
not  apparently  eligible  to  all  offices,  for  it  is  specifically 
stated  that  ' '  no  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of 
Oovernor  or  lyieutenant-Governor  who  shall  not  have  at- 
tained the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  for  two  years 
next  preceding  his  election  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
and  of  this  State  (Art.  V,  Sec.  2).  An  alien  electors  is, 
however,  eligible  to  a  seat  in  the  Legislature  (Art.  Ill, 
^ec.  5)  provided  he  does  not  hold  any  lucrative  office  un- 


1 66  OFFICK- HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

cler  the  State  or  any  office  under  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  6).  The  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  has  passed  upon  a  case  of  great  interest 
and  importance  aifecting  eligibility  to  office  and  the  right 
of  suffiage,  growing  out  of  a  controversy  over  the  Gover- 
norship of  this  State  (See  page  113). 

The  right  to  vote  gives  the  right  to  hold  office  in  the 
State  of  Nevada  (Art.  XV,  Sec.  3)  unless  the  voter  is  a 
Federal  office-holder,  in  which  event  he  is  debarred  from 
holding  office  under  the  State.  But  Postmasters  receiv- 
ing compensation  not  exceeding  $500  per  annum  are  not 
deemed  as  holding  a  lucrative  office,  and  may  hold  an  of- 
fice in  the  service  of  the  State  without  prejudice  to  the 
Postmastership  (Art.  IV.  Sec.   9). 

The  Constitution  of  New  Hampshire  (1862)  declares  that 
*' no  office  or  place  whatsoever  in  the  Government  shall 
be  hereditary — the  abilities  and  integrity  requisite  in  all 
not  being  transmitted  to  posterity  or  relations  ' '  (Part  I^ 
Art .  9) .  "  Every  male  inhabitant ' '  of  twenty-one  years. 
of  age  and  upward  paying  taxes,  is  an  elector"  (Part  II, 
Sec.  28),  and  "  every  person,  qualified  as  the  Constitu- 
tion provides,  shall  be  considered  an  inhabitant  for  the 
purpose  of  electing  or  being  elected  into  any  office  or 
place  within  the  State,  in  the  town,  parish,  and  planta- 
tion where  he  dwelleth  and  hath  bis  home"  (Part  II, 
Sec.  30).  The  qualifications  referred  to  apply  to  the  of- 
fice of  State  Senator  who  must  be  a  freeholder  to- 
the  value  of  ^200  (Part.  II,  Sec.  29),  and  the  office  of 
Governor,  Councillor,  members  of  the  Judiciary,  etc.,  to 


OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS.  1 67 

which  age  and  residence  limitations  are  attached.  No 
person,  for  instance,  is  eligible  to  hold  the  office  of  Judge 
of  any  Court,  or  Judge  of  Probate,  or  Sheriff  of  any 
county,  after  he  has  attained  the  age  of  seventy  years 
(Part.  II,  Sec.  78). 

It  has  already  been  noted  that  New  Jersey  at  one  time 
made  no  distinction  between  the  sexes  in  the  right  to 
vote,  so  long  as  the  person  claiming  the  right  had  the 
necessary  property  qualification  of  ' '  fifty  pounds  procla- 
mation money."  But  that  privilege  is  now  reserved  ex- 
clusively to  adult  male  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and 
in  the  absence  of  anything  to  the  contrary  no  one  but 
an  elector  is  qualified  to  hold  office. 

Qualifications  to  hold  office  are  not  stated  in  the  Con- 
stitution of  New  York,  but  disqualifications  are  stated. 
For  instance  :  no  person  is  eligible  to  a  seat  in  the  I^egis- 
lature,  who,  at  any  time  within  one  hufidred  days  of  the 
time  of  his  election  may  have  been  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, or  held  a  civil  or  military  office  under  the  Federal 
Government,  or  who  may  have  been  an  officer  under  any 
city  government  (Art.  II,  Sec.  8,  Const.  Amendment, 
1874),  and  a  member  of  the  State  I^egislature  is  ineligible 
to  civil  appointment  within  the  State  or  to  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  from  the  Governor,  the  Governor  and 
Senate,  or  from  the  Legislature,  or  from  any  city  gov- 
ernment during  the  time  for  which  he  has  been  elected 
(Art.  II,  Sec.  7,  Const.  Amendment,  1874). 

Every  elector  is  eligible  to   office  in   North   Carolina 


1 68  OFFICE-HOI.DING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

(Art.  VI,  Sec,  4,  Const,  of  1876)  and  only  Federal  citi- 
zens are  electors. 

North  Dakota  makes  aliens  who  have  declared  their  in- 
tention to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  one  year, 
and  not  more  than  six  years,  prior  to  an  election,  elec- 
tors (Art.  V,  Sec.  121,  Sub.  2,  Const.  1891),  and  it 
qualifies  an  elector  who  shall  have  attained  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years,  and  been  a  resident  of  the  State  or  Terri- 
tory two  years  next  preceding  an  election,  to  the  office  of 
State  Senator,  and  gives  an  elector  twenty-one  years  of  age 
who  has  the  same  residence  qualification  the  right  to  sit 
in  the  Lower  House  of  the  State  Legislature.  But  to  be 
Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  Secretary  of  State, 
Auditor,  Treasurer,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, Commissioner  of  Insurance,  Commissioner  of  Rail- 
roads, Attorney-General,  Commissioner  of  Agriculture 
and  Labor,  Supreme  Justice  or  Judge  of  a  District  Court, 
an  elector  must  also  be  a  Federal  citizen.  The  laws  of 
the  State  may  thus  be  made  by  aliens,  but  the  adminis- 
tration of  them  rests  exclusively  with  citizens  of  the 
United  States. 

Section  4  of  Article  XV  of  the  Constitution  of  Ohio 
(1851)  provides  that  "  no  person  shall  be  elected  or  ap- 
pointed to  office  in  this  State,  unless  he  possesses  the 
qualifications  of  an  elector,"  and  the  elective  franchise  is 
restricted  to  adult  Federal  citizens. 

Persons  of  foreign  birth  who  have  declared  their  inten- 
tion to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  enjoy  the 
right  of  suffrage  in  Oregon  under  the  Constitution   of 


OFFICB-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS.  1 69 

1857,  but  no  one  is  eligible  to  any  county  office  who  can- 
not take  an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  and  of  the  State,  and  the  qualification  of  admin- 
istrative officers  of  the  State  is  that  of  Federal  citizen- 
ship. 

Pennsylvania  requires  an  elector  to  be  a  Federal  citi- 
zen, and  no  one  but  a  Federal  citizen  can  take  the  oath 
of  office  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  (Art.  VII,  Sec. 
i)  ;  nor  can  any  person  be  appointed  to  any  office  in 
any  county  who  shall  not  have  been  a  citizen  and  an  in- 
habitant therein  one  year  next  before  his  appoint- 
ment, '  *  if  the  county  shall  have  been  so  long  erected  ; 
but  if  it  shall  not  have  been  so  long  erected,  then  within 
the  limits  of  the  county  or  counties  out  of  which  it  shall 
have  been  taken"  (Art  XIV,  Sec.  3).  Women  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  and  upward  are  eligible  to  any  office  of 
control  or  management  under  the  school  laws  of  the 
State,  but  they  are  not  eligible  to  vote  (Art.  X,  Sec.  3). 
The  Governor  and  all  civil  officers  may  be  removed  and 
disqualified  from  holding  office  for  misdemeanor  in  office 
by  impeachment  proceedings  before  the  Senate,  and  such 
impeached  officers,  whether  convicted  or  acquitted,  may 
be  proceeded  against  also  in  the  ordinary  way  by  indict- 
ment and  trial  according  to  law^  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  3).  All 
officers  hold  their  offices  conditional  on  their  good  behav- 
ior, and  they  are  subject  to  removal  for  any  official 
misbehavior  or  the  commission  of  any  infamous  crime. 
The  power  which  appoints  has  the  authority  to  remove, 
except  in  the  case  of  judges  of  the  courts  of  record  and 


lyo  OFFICK-HOI.DING  QUAI.IFICATIONS. 

the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction;  and  all  ofl&cers 
elected  by  the  people,  * '  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
members  of  the  General  Assembly  and  judges  of  the 
courts  of  record  learned  in  the  law ' '  excepted,  are  re- 
movable '  *  by  the  Governor  for  reasonable  cause,  after 
due  notice  and  full  hearing,  on  the  address  of  two- thirds 
of  the  Senate"  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  4).  The  power  of  im- 
peachment rests  with  the  House  of  Representatives,  but 
trial  must  be  had  before  the  Senate,  and  it  takes  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  present  to  convict. 

In  Rhode  Island,  Federal  citizens  possessed  of  stated 
property  qualifications  are  electors,  and  no  person  is  eli- 
gible to  any  civil  ofiice  (except  the  office  of  School  Com- 
mittee) unless  a  qualified  elector  for  such  ofiice  (Art.  IX,, 
Sec.  2,  Const,  of  1842). 

South  Carolina,  in  the  Constitution  of  1868,  prohibits 
the  creation  of  a  property  qualification  for  an  election  to  or 
the  holding  of  any  office,  and  no  office  shall  be  created,  the 
appointment  of  which  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  good 
behavior  (Art  I,  Sec.  32),  a  concession  which  the  Con- 
stitution of  some  States  will  not  allow.  Any  person  who 
denies  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being  is  ineligible  to 
the  office  of  Governor  (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  3),  or  to  any  office 
(Art.  XIV,  Sec.  6).  Federal  citizens  who  have  the  neces- 
sary residence  qualifications  are  given  solely  the  right  to 
vote,  and  they  only  are  eligible  to  any  office  in  the  gift 
of  the  State  (Art.  XIV,  Sec.   i). 

South  Dakota  restricts  office-holding  to  male  Federal 
citizens,   who  only  are   also   electors,    excepting   school 


OFFICE-HOI<DING   QUAI.IFICATIONS.  171 

offices,  which  are  thrown  open  to  women,  and  women  are 
given  the  right  to  vote  at  school  elections  (Art.  VII,  Sec. 
9  ;  Art.  IX,  Sec.  7,  Const.  1889). 

Tennessee,  under  the  Constitution  of  1870,  prohibits  a 
religious  test  for  either  voting  or  holding  office,  and  Fed- 
eral citizens  only  are  electors  and  qualified  to  hold  office. 
But  ' '  no  minister  of  the  gospel,  or  priest  of  any  denomi- 
nation whatever,  is  eligible  to  a  seat  in  either  House  of 
the  Legislature  ;"  and  any  person  who  "denies  the  being 
of  God,  or  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments," 
is  prohibited  from  holding  any  office  in  the  civil  depart- 
ments of  the  State ;  while  participants  to  a  duel  are  de- 
prived of  the  right  to  vote  and  to  hold  office  (Art.  IX). 
Any  county  office  created  by  the  Legislature  must  be 
filled  either  by  the  people  or  by  the  County  Court  (Art. 
XI,  Sec.  17).  Any  person  who,  to  secure  election,  gives," 
promises,  or  bestows  upon  an  elector  as  a  reward  for  his 
vote  either  ' '  meat,  drink,  money,  or  otherwise, ' '  is  in- 
capacitated from  serving  in  the  office  for  which  he  has 
been  elected,  for  a  period  of  six  years  (Art.  X,  Sec.   3). 

Texas,  in  the  Constitution  of  1876,  prohibits  any  re- 
ligious test  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  to  vote,  and 
it  does  not  permit  the  exclusion  of  any  one  from  office  on 
account  of  his  religious  sentiments,  provided  he  acknowl- 
edges the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being  (Art.  I,  Sec.  4). 
Persons  of  foreign  birth  and  allegiance  who  have  declared 
their  intention  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
are  admitted  to  the  rights  of  electors,  and  there  is  noth- 
ing in  the  oath  of  office  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  to 


172  OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

prevent  any  alien  from  qualifying  as  an  office-holder 
without  violation  to  his  conscience  or  treachery  to  his 
allegiance.  But  it  is  stipulated  in  the  case  of  the  admin- 
istrative and  judicial  offices  of  the  State  that  only  Fed- 
eral citizens  are  qualified. 

The  Constitution  which  Vermont  adopted  in  1793  on 
its  admission  to  the  Union  of  States  under  the  act  of  Con- 
gress of  1 791 ,  has  been  in  force  ever  since.  Amendments 
have,  however,  been  adopted  by  the  people  on  several 
occasions.  Art.  VIII  of  Chapter  I  defines  the  status  of 
eligibility  to  vote  and  to  hold  office,  as  follows  :  ' '  All 
freemen,  having  a  sufficient  evidence,  common  interest 
with,  and  attachment  to  the  community."  Up  to  1828, 
aliens  who  were  able  to  comply  with  these  conditions 
enjoyed  both  the  right  of  electing  and  the  right  of 
'being  elected  to  office ;  but  in  the  year  named  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  adopted  defining 
the  status  of  a  freeman  thus:  *'No  person,  who  is 
not  already  a  freeman  of  this  State,  shall  be  entitled 
to  exercise  the  privilege  of  a  freeman,  unless  he  be 
a  natural-born  citizen  of  this  or  some  one  of  the 
United  States,  or  until  he  shall  have  been  naturalized 
agreeably  to  the  acts  of  Congress."  Federal  citizenship 
is,  consequently,  the  standard  of  eligibility  to  vote  and 
to  hold  office  in  Vermont,  at  present. 

Federal  citizenship  constitutes  the  basis  of  the  right  to 
the  elective  franchise  in  Virginia  under  the  Constitution 
of  1870,  and  the  amendment  adopted  in  1876  ;  and  the 
same  Constitution  declares  that   ' '  all  persons  entitled  to 


OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS.  1 73 

vote  shall  be  eligible  to  any  ofifice  in  the  gift  of  the  peo- 
ple, except  as  restricted  in  this  Constitution."  Ano- 
ther Constitutional  provision  restricts  the  right  to  sit  as 
jurors  to  those  who  are  eligible  to  vote  and  hold  office. 

Eligibility  to  hold  office  and  to  vote  is  the  same  in  the 
new  State  of  Washington,  and  no  person,  except  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States  and  a  qualified  elector  of  the 
State  is  eligible  to  hold  any  State  office  ;  but  such  aliens 
as  declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens  of  the 
United  States  under  the  Territorial  law  were,  under  the 
ruling  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the 
Nebraska  case  of  Thayer  vs.  Boyd,  admitted  to  Federal 
citizenship  under  the  Enabling  and  Admission  acts  of 
Congress.  The  Legislature  is  authorized  by  the  Consti- 
tution of  1889  to  provide  that  there  shall  be  no  denial  of 
the  elective  franchise  at  any  school  election  on  account 
of  sex,  and  an  act  was  passed  in  March,  1890,  putting 
this  provision  into  operation  (see  page  103).  The  Treas- 
urer is  the  only  State  officer  who  is,  under  this  Constitu- 
tion, ineligible  to  be  his  own  direct  successor  (Art.  Ill, 
Sec.  25),  and  no  county  officer  is  eligible  to  hold  his  of- 
fice more  than  two  terms  in  succession  (Art.  XI,  Sec.  7). 

The  Constitution  of  West  Virginia  of  1872  makes  Fed- 
eral citizens  only  citizens  of  the  State,  and  male  citizens 
of  the  State,  not  minors,  or  of  unsound  mind,  or  paupers, 
or  under  conviction  of  treason,  felony,  or  bribery  in  an 
election,  electors,  provided  that  they  have  the  necessary 
residence  qualifications  ;  and  only  such  as  are  enabled  to 
vote  are  eligible   to  election  or  appointment  to  office, 


174  OFFICK-HOI.DING  QUAIvIFICATlONS. 

whether  it  be  State,  county  or  municipal  (Art.  IV.  Sees. 
I  and  4). 

Wisconsin,  under  the  Constitution  of  1848,  makes  it 
compulsory  for  the  Governor  and  I^ieutenant- Governor  to 
be  citizens  of  the  United  States  (Art.  V,  Sec.  2),  so  also 
the  State  and  county  Judiciary  ;  but  being  a  qualified 
elector  of  the  district  which  he  may  be  chosen  to  repre- 
sent qualifies  a  person  for  a  seat  in  the  State  Legislature, 
if  he  has  resided  one  year  in  the  State  (Art.  IV,  Sec.  6); 
and  among  those  who  are  qualified  electors  are  persons 
of  foreign  birth  who  have  merely  declared  their  intention 
to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  conformably  to 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  on  the  subject  of  natural- 
ization, and  civilized  persons  of  Indian  descent  not  mem- 
bers of  any  tribe,  but  who  are  really  ineligible  to  Federal 
citizenship  by  any  of  the  ordinary  methods  of  acquiring 
it.  (Art.  Ill,  Sec.  i).  Sheriffs  are  made  ineligible 
to  the  same  office  ' '  for  two  years  next  succeeding 
the  termination  of  their  office"  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  4). 
Dueling,  or  participation  therein  as  accessory,  for- 
ever disqualifies  the  person  thus  engaged  as  an  elector 
and  from  holding  any  office  under  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  State  (Art.  XIII,  Sec.  2).  Members  of  Con- 
gress, persons  holding  office  under  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment (Postmasters  excepted),  persons  convicted  of  infam- 
ous crime,  defaulters  to  the  United  States,  or  to  the  State 
of  Wisconsin,  or  to  any  county  or  town  in  it,  or  to  any 
State  or  Territory  in  the  United  States  are  ineligible  to 


OFFICK-HOLDING  QUALIFICATIONS.  1 75 

any  office  (Art.  XIII,  Sec.  3).  A  religious  test  or  a  qual- 
ification for  office  is  prohibited  (Art.  I,  Sec.  19). 

Wyoming  gives  women  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  its 
Constitution  declares  that  the  right  to  hold  office,  as  well 
as  the  right  to  vote,  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  on 
account  of  sex,  both  male  and  female  citizens  being 
guaranteed  equally  the  enjoyment  of  all  civil,  political 
and  religious  rights  and  privileges  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  i, 
Const.  1889)  ;  but  in  defining  the  qualifications  and  duties 
of  the  executive,  judicial,  legislative  and  other  officers, 
the  incumbent  thereof  is,  in  every  instance,  referred  to  as 
of  the  male  sex.  When  New  Jersey  granted  woman  the 
right  of  suffrage,  all  legislation  relating  to  the  elective 
franchise  recognized  with  great  particularity,  in  every  re- 
ference to  person,  the  equality  of  the  sexes*.  This  has 
been  deemed  unnecessary  in  Wyoming,  woman  be- 
ing understood  wherever  mian  is  named  in  the  Con- 
stitution. Federal  citizenship  is  the  standard  of  of- 
fice-holding and  electorship  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  5),  and 
whatever  debars  any  person  from  the  enjoyment  of  one 
deprives  him  also  of  the  right  of  the  other.  Wyoming 
is  the  only  State  in  the  Union  where  woman  is,  politi- 
cally, the  co-equal  of  man.  But  for  the  first  five  years  of 
the  State's  existence,  aliens  may  vote  (Art.  VI,  Sec.  10), 
and  possibly  hold  office. 

It  will  be  observed  from  the  foregoing  that  at  least 
thirteen  States  give  those  owing  foreign  allegiance  the 
right  to  hold  office.     The  right  to  vote  and  to  hold  office 

*  American  Citizens'  Manual,  p.  89. 


176  OFFICE-HOLDING   QUALIFICATIONS. 

is  conceded  in  all  the  Territories  under  the  Federal 
statutes,  to  aliens  who  have  declared  their  intention  tO' 
become  citizens  of  the  United  States  (See  page  140);  but 
they  are  required,  under  oath,  to  support  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  The  Federal  Constitution  pro- 
hibits any  religious  test  as  a  qualification  for  holding 
any  office  under  the  Federal  Government  f,  but  it  requires 
an  oath  of  fealty  to  the  Government.  Allegiance  by 
birth  or  naturalization  constitute  Federal  citizenship  ; 
but  the  Constitution  fails  to  define  the  qualifications  for 
office-holding  under  the  Federal  Government.  Persons 
of  foreign  birth,  owing  allegiance  only  to  a  foreign 
power,  have,  however,  held  Federal  office,  and  their 
right  to  do  so  has  not  been  challenged. 

+  Federal  Constitution,  Art.  VI,  Sec.  3. 


THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION.* 


We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  iu  order  to  form  a  more  perfect 
union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquility,  provide  for  the  common 
defense,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to 
ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Section  I — Legislative  Powers. 
All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 
Section  I— House  of  Representatives. 

1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members  chosen 
every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States ;  and  the  electors  iu 
each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  m^ost 
numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

Qualifications  of  Members. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  shall  not;  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 

Apportionment  of  Representatives. 

3.  [Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their  re- 
spective numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number 
of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  ex- 
cluding Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons.]  (i)  The  actual 
enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  often  years, 
in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  Representatives 
shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at 
least  one  Representative  ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  three  ;  Massachusetts, 
eight;  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  one;    Connecticut,   five 

♦This  Constitution  went  into  operation  March  4,  1789. 
(1)  Amended  by  XlVth  Amendment,  2d  Sec. 


178  THE   FKDERAI,   CONSTITUTION. 

New  York,  six;  New  Jersey,  four;  Pennsylvania,  eight;  Delaware,  one; 
Maryland,  six  ;  Virgini^i,  ten  ;  North  Carolina,  five ;  South  Carolina,  five,  and 
Georgia,  three. 

Filling  Vacancibs. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  of  any  State,  the  exe- 
cutive authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

Exclusive  Power  of  iMPeACHMENT. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and  other 
officers,  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Section  III— Composition  of  the  Senate. 

1.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two  Senators 
from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature  thereof,  for  six  years,  and  each 
Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

Rotation  of  Senators. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled,  in  consequence  of  the  first 
election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three  classes.  The 
seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the 
second  year  ;  of  the  second  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year  ;  and 
9f  the  third  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may 
be  chosen  every  second  year.  Ard  if  vacancies  happen  by  resignation,  or 
otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any  State,  the  executive 
thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Leg- 
islature, which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

Qualifications  of  Senators. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  the  age  of 
thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

President  of  the  Senate. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of  the  Sen- 
ate, but  shall  have  no  vote  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

Officers  of  the  Senate. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  President  pro 
tempore,  xn  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

Impeachment  Trials. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments.  When 
the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  preside  ; 
and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the 
members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment,   shall  not  be  extended  further 


THE  FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  1 79 

than  to  removal  from  oflSce,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office 
of  honor,  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States ;  but  the  party  convicted 
shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment  and 
punishment  according  to  law. 

Section  IV— E^lection  of  Members  of  Congress. 

1.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  Senators  and 
Representatives  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State,  by  the  Legislature  thereof; 
but  the  Congress,  may,  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regulations, 
except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  Senators. 

Congressional    Sessions. 

2.  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year  ;  and  such  meeting 
shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a 
different  day. 

Section  V— Powers,  Rui-es  and  Duties  of  Each  House. 
r.  Each  House  shall  be  judge  of  the  elections,  returns  and  qualifications 
of  its  own  members  ;  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do 
business  ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be 
authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner  and 
under  such  penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

2.  Each  House  may  determine  the  rule  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its 
members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  ex- 
pel a  member. 

3.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to 
time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may,  in  their  judgment,  re- 
quire secrecy  ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  eac.i  House,  on  any 
question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-lifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the 
journal. 

4.  Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place 
than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  VI— Compensation  and  Privileges. 

1.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  compensation  for 
their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the 
United  States.  They  shall,  in  all  ca.ses  except  treason,  felony  and  breach  of 
the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of 
their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same  ;  and 
for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either  House  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any 
other  place. 

Appointment  to  Office. 

2,  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was 
elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United 


l8o  THE   FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION. 

States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have 
been  increased  during  such  time ;  and  no  person  holding  office  under  the 
United  States,  shall  be  a  member  of  either  House  during  his  continuance  in 
office. 

Section   VII — Revenue  Bills. 

1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  or  Represen- 
tatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments,  as  on  other 
bills. 

Passing  Bills,  Etc. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  becomes  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States ;  if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it ;  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it, 
with  his  objections,  to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall 
enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it 
If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the 
bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  House,  by 
which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that 
House,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  yeas  and  nays,  and  the 
names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on  the 
journal  of  each  House  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the 
President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  pre- 
sented to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it, 
unless  the  Congress,  by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return,  in  which  case 
it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Orders  and  Resolutions. 

3.  Every  order,  resolution  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the  Sen- 
ate and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except  on  the  question 
of  adjournment),  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,^  and 
before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him,  or,  being  disap- 
proved by  him,  shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives,  according  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case 

of  a  bill. 

Section  viii.— Powers  of  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  : 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts  and  excises,  to  pay  the  debts 
and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United 
States ;  but  all  duties,  imposts  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States ; 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States  ; 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several 
States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 


THE  FKDERAI,  CONSTITUTION.  l8l 

4.  To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on 
the  subject  of  bankruptcies,  throughout  the  United  States  (i) ; 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and 
fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  ; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and 
•current  coin  of  the  United  States  ; 

7.  To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads  ; 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  securing  for 
limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective 
writings  and  discoveries  ; 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high 
seas,  and  oflenses  against  the  law  of  nations  ; 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules 
concerning  captures  on  land  and  water  ; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies  ;  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that 
aise  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years  ; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy ; 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land  an  J 
naval  forces ; 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  suppress  itisurrections  and  repel  invasions ; 

16.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and  for 
governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  reserving  to  the  States,  respectively,  the  appointment  of  the  officers, 
And  the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to  the  discipline  pre- 
scribed by  Congress ; 

17.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  such 
"district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square;,  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular 
States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  government  of  the 
United  States ;  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the 

•consent  of  the  l,eg:islature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the 
•erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards  and  any  other  needful 
.buildings;  and— 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  foregoing  powers  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Con- 
stitution in  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or 
-officer  thereof. 

Section  ix— Limitations  of  the  Powers  of  Congress. 
I.     The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  States  now 

Wharton  122,  209  ;  6  Id.   131 ;  12  Id.  213  ;  6  Peters  348,  761  ;  9  'd.  329; 
5  Rowland,  295  ;  19  Id.  393. 


(I).    4 
Id.  67; 


1 82  THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 

existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  Congress, 
prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty 
may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each 
person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended  un- 
less, when  in  case  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  bill  of  attainder,  or  expostjacto  law  shall  be  passed. 

4.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to 
the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken. 

5.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  State. 

6.  No  preference  shall  be  given,  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  reve- 
nue, to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another  ;  nor  shall  vessels  bound 
to  or  from  one  State  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  iu  another. 

7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  consequence  of 
appropriations  made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account  of  the 
receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time 
to  time. 

8.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States  ;  and  no  per- 
son holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them  shall,  without  the  consent 

of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office  or  title  of  any  kind 
whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Section  x— L,imitations  of  the  Power  of  Individual  States. 

1.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance  or  confederation  ;  grant 
letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit  ;  make  any- 
thing but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts  ;  pass  any  bill 
of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  \ayv ,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation- of  contracts  ; 
or  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

2.  No  State  -hall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  imposts  or 
duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary 
for  executing  its  inspection  laws ;  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and 
imposts  laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for  the  United 
States ;  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the 
Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  duty  oru 
tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  times  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agree- 
ment or  compact  with  another  State,  or  with  a  foreigti  power,  or  engage  in 
war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  snch  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit 
of  delay. 

ARTICIvE  II. 

THE   EXECUTIVE. 

I,  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America.     He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four  years. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  1 83 

and  together  with  the  Vice  President,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be  elected  as 
follows : 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  Legislature  thereof 
may  direct,  a  number  of  elector^ equal  to  the  whole  number  of  Senators  and 
and  Representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress  ;  but 
no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit 
under  the  United  States  shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

3.  [The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by  ballot 
for  two  persons,  of  whom  one,  at  least,  shall  not  be  of  the  same  State  with 
themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of 
the  number  of  votes  for  each  ;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit,  sealed,  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  di- 
rected to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certi- 
ficates and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors  appointed  ;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have 
such  majority,  and  have  an  equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot,  one  of  them  for  President ;  and 
if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list,  the  said 
House  shall  in  a  like  manner  choose  the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  Presi- 
dent, the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State 
having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or 
members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  the  States  shall  be 
necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case,  alter  the  choice  of  the  President,  the 
person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors,  shall  be  the  Vice- 
President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,, 
the  Senate  shall  choose  from  them,  by  ballot,  the  Vice-President]  (i). 

4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors,  and 
the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes,  which  day  shall  be  the  same 
throughout  the  United  States. 

5.  No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the 
office  of  President  :  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who 
shall  not  have  attained  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  yeais  a 
resident  within  the  United  States  (2). 

6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his  death,  res- 
ignation or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the 
same  shall  devolve  on   the   Vice-President ;  and    the  Congress  may,  by  law, 

(i).     The  Xllth  amendment  has  superseded  this  paragraph. 
(2).     The  Xllth  amendment  defines  eligibility  to  the  office  of  Vice-Presi- 
dent, which  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  omitted. 


1 84  THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 

provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation  or  inability,  both  of  the 
President  and  Vice-President,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  Presi- 
dent, and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly,  ut^il  the  disability  be  removed, or 
a  President  shall  be  elected  (i). 

7.  The  President  shall  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a  compen- 
sation which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the  period  for 
which  he  shall  have  been  elected  ;  and  he  shall  not  receive,  within  that  pe- 
riod, any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States  or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enters  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the  follow- 
ing oath  or  affirmation. 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faiihfully  execute  the  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve, 
protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Section  ii— Powers  of  the  President. 

1.  The  President  shall  be  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of 
the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  St  tes,  when  called  into 
the  actual  service  of  the  United  States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writ- 
ing, of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any 
subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,   and  he  shall  have 

power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offenses  against  the  United  States, 
€xceptin  cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
to  mal<e  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present  concur  ;  and  he 
shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  consent  and  advice  of  the  Senate,  shall 
appoint  Ambassadors,  other  Public  Ministers  and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States  whose  appointments 
are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law. 

But  the  Congress  may,  by  law,  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers 
as  they  think  proper  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the 
heads  of  departments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that  may  hap- 
pen during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commissions,  which  shall  ex- 
pire at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

Section  III— Duties  of  the  President. 
He  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the  state 
of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he 
shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions, 
convene  both  houses,  or  either  of  them  ;  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between 
them  with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such 

(i).  The  successor  to  the  Presidency  in  either  of  the  contingencies  contem- 
plated in  this  paragraph  was  amply  provided  for  by  Congress  in  1866.  (See 
page  35). 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  1 85 

time  as  he  shall  think  proper  ;  he  shall  receive  Ambassadors  and  other  Pub- 
lic Ministers ;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and 
shall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Section  IV— Removal  From  Office. 
The  President,  Vice-President  and  all  civil  'officers  of  the  United  States 
rshall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of,  treason, 
.bribery  and  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICr^E  III. 
Section  I— The  Judicial  Power. 
The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one  Supreme 
Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  or- 
dain and  establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  courts, 
shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  re- 
'Ceive  for  their  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during 
their  continuance  in  office. 

Section  II— Jurisdiction  of  the  Judicial  Power. 

1.  *The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  in  law  and  equity  arising 
tinder  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority  ;  to  all  cases  affiscting  Ambassa- 
■dors,  or  other  Public  Ministers  and  Consuls;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and 
maritime  jurisdiction  ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a 
party  ;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States  ;  between  a  State  and  citi- 
zens of  another  State  ;  between  citizens  of  different  States  ;  between  citizens 
•of  the  same  State  claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  States ;  and  be- 
tween a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  citizens  or  subjects. 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  Public  Ministers  and  Consuls, 
and  those  in  a  which  a  State  shall  be  party,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have 
original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  Supreme 
Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  ex 
■ceptions  and  under  such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by 
jury,  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said  crime  shall  have 
been  committed  ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the  trial  shall  be 
at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have  directed. 

Section  III— Treason  and  Its  Punishment. 
I.    Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levying  war 
against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort. 

*See  Xlth  amendment. 


1 86  THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 

No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  wit- 
nesses to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason, 
but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture,  ex- 
cept during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 
Section  I— State  Records. 
Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given,  in  each  State,  to  the  public  acts,  rec- 
ords and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  State.     And  the  Congress  may, 
by  general  laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records  and  pro- 
ceedings shall  be  proved  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section  II— Privileges  of  Citizens. 

1.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  im- 
munities of  citizens  in  the  several  States,  (i). 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony  or  other  crime,  who 
shall  flee  from  justice  and  be  found  in  another  State,  shall,  on  demand  of  the 
executive  authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  re- 
moved to  the  State  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3.  No  person  held  to  labor  or  service  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  there- 
of, escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  there- 
in, be  discharged  irom  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up,  on 
claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section  III— Admission  of  New  States. 

1.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this  Union  ;  but  no 
new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other 
State,  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States  or  parts 
of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned,  as 
well  as  of  the  Congress, 

Disposition  of  Territories. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful 
rules  and  regulations  respec  ing  the  Territorj'  or  other  property  belonging  to 
the  United  States ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  construed  as  to 
prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

Section  IV— GtTaranty  and  Protection  of  the  Statcs   by   the   Union. 
The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  republi- 
can form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion  ; 

(i)  5  Cranch  61,  761 ;  12  Peters  657  ;  13  Id.  519 ;  14  Howland  13  ;  18  Id.  591  ;  19 
Id.  393;  6  Wallace  35;  8  Id.  123,  16S;  10  Id.  173,  566;  12  Id.  418;  16  Id. 
36,  130  ;  93  U.  S.  72  ;  94  Id.  391 ;  114  Id.  622. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  1 87 

aud,  on  application  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legisla- 
ture cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

Amendments  to  the  Constituton. 
The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem  it  neces- 
sary, shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  application 
of  the  Legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  convention 
for  proposing  amendments,  which  in  either  case  shall  be  valid,  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  as  a  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures 
of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the 
(longress ;  provided,  that  no  amendment  which  may.be  made  prior  to  the  year 
eighteen  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  aud  fourth 
<:lauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article,  and  that  no  State,  without  its 
consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suff'rage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE    VI. 

Section  I— Validity  of  Former  Debts. 

All  debts  contracted,  and  engagements  entered  into,  before  the  adoption 
of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under  this 
Constitution  as  under  the  Confederation. 

Section  II— Supreme  Law  of  the  Land. 

This  Constitution  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be  made 
in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under 
the  authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land ; 
and  the  Judges  in  every  State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  Consti- 
tution or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

Section  III— Exemption  From  any  Religious  Test. 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  members  of  the 
several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirma- 
tion to  support  this  Constitution  ;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required 
as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United  States  (i). 

ARTICLE  VII. 

When  the  Constitution  to  Take  Effect. 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for  the 
establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  .same. 

Done  in  the  convention,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States  present, 
the  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 

i>    4  Wallace,  333. 


i88 


THK   FEDERAI.  CONSTITUTION. 


seven  hundred  and    eighty-seven,  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America  the  twelfth. 

In  witness  wnereof,  we  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

GEO.  WASHINGTON, 
President  and  Deputy  from   Virginia, 


New  Hampshire  : 

JOHN  I^ANGDON. 

Massachusetts  : 

NATHANIEL  GORMAN. 

Connecticut  : 

WM.  SAMUEI/  JOHNSON 
New  York  : 

AI.EXANDER  HAMII^TON. 

New  Jersey  : 

WII^IvIAM  WVINGSTON. 
WII.I,IAM  PATTERSON. 

Pennsylvania  : 

BENJAMIN  FRANKI.IN. 

ROBERT  MORRIS. 

THOMAS  FITZSIMONS. 

JAMES  WILSON. 
Delaware  : 

GEORGE  REED. 

JOHN  DICKINSON. 

JACOB  BROOM. 
Maryland  : 

DANIEL  CARROLL, 

DAN 'I,  OF  ST.  THOS.  JENIFER 
Virginia  : 

JOHN  BLAIR, 
North  Carolina  : 

WILLIAM  BLUNT. 

HUGH  WILLIAMSON. 
South  Carolina  : 

JOHN  RUTLEDGE. 

CHARLE;S  PINCKNiEY. 
Georgia : 

WILLIAM  FEW. 


NICHOLAS  OILMAN. 


RUFUS  KING. 


ROGER  SHERMAN. 


DAVID  BREARLE. 
JONATHAN  DAYTON. 

THOMAS  MIFFLIN. 
GEORGE  CLYMER. 
JARED  INGERSOLL. 
GOUV.  MORRIS. 

GUNNING  BEDFORD,  Jun. 
RICHARD  BASSETT. 


JAMES  McHE->RY. 

JAMES  MADISON,  Jun. 
RICH'D  DOBBS  SPAIGHT. 


C.  COATESWORTH  PINCKNEY. 
PIERCE  BUTLER. 


Atteit. 


ABRAHAM  BALDWIN. 
WILLIAM  JOHNSON,  Secretary. 


THK   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  1 89 

— TO   THE — 

FEDERAL    CONSTITUTION. 


*artici.e:  I. 

Right  of  Conscience,  Freedom  of  the  Press,  etc. 
Congress   shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  or 
prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or 
of  the  press  ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  und  to  petition 
the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

*ARTICLK  II. 
the  militia. 
A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  for  the  security  of  a  free  State,  the 
right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be  infringed. 

*ARTICI.e:  III. 
Quartering  Soldiers. 
No  soldier  shall  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any  house  without  the 
consent  of  the  owner;  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed 
by  law. 

♦ARTICLE  IV. 

Unreasonable  Searches  and  Seizures. 
The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papers  and 
effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated  ;  and 
no  warrant  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirma- 
tion, and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or 
things  to  be  seized, 

*ARTICLK  V. 
Crimes  and  Indictments. 
No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous 
crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases 
arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual  service  in 
time  of  war  or  public  danger,  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject,  for  the  sam  e  of« 
fense,  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb ;  nor  shall  be  compelled   in 

*  Articles  I  to  X,  inclusive,  were  proposed  by  Congress  September  25, 
1789,  and  ratified  by  the  requisite  three-fourths  of  the  State  IvCgislatures 
December  15,  1791. 


I  go  THE  FEDERAI.  CONSTITUTION. 

any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself;  nor  to  be  deprived  of  life, 
liberty  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law  ;  nor  shall  private  property  be 
taken  for  public  use" without  just  compensation. 
*ARTICLE    VI. 
Criminal  Prosecutions. 
In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy 
and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein  the 
crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall   have  been  previously 
ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informod  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusa- 
tion ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him  ;  to  have  compulsory 
process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in   his  favor,  ah d  to  h^ve  the  assistance  of 
counsel  for  his  defense. 

*ARTICI.K  VII. 

Trial  by  Jury  in  Civil  Cases. 
In  suits  at  common   law,   where  the   value  in  controversy  shall  exceed 
twenty   dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved  ;  and  no  fact 
tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the  United 
States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 
*ARTICLE  VIII. 
Bails,  Fines  and  Punishments. 
Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,   nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor 
cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

*ARTICLE   IX. 
Reserved  Rights. 
The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall  not  be  con- 
strued to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 
*ARTICLE  X. 
State  Rights. 
The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor 
prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to 
the  people. 

^ARTICLE  XI. 

The  Judicial  Powfr. 
The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  to  extend 
to  any  suit,  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the 
United  States,  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any 
foreign  State  (i). 


*  See  note  at  loot  of  previous  page. 

(*T)  Proposed  by  Congress  March  5,  1794  ;  ratified  Jan.  8,  179S. 

(i)  Amending  Article  III,  Sec.  2,  Fed.  Const. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  I91 

tARTICLE  XII. 
How  THE  President  and  Vice  President  are  Elected. 
The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States  $  and  vote  by  ballot  for 
President  and  Vice  President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  same  State  with  themselves  ;  they  shall  name,  in  their  ballots,  the 
person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as 
Vice  President ;  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as 
President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number 
of  votes  for  [each,  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  * 
to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  President 
of  the  Senate ;  the  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,!  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall 
then  be  counted  ;  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  Presi- 
dent shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  num- 
ber of  electors  appointed ;  aud  if  no  person  have  such  majority,  then  from 
the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding  three,  on  the  list  of 
those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  imme- 
diately, by  ballot,  the  President ;  but  in  choosing  the  President  the  votes  shall 
be  taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote ;  a 
quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two- 
thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice ;  and  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President, 
whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day 
of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  death  or  other  Constitutional  disability  of  the  President  The 
person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice-President  shall  be  the  Vice- 
President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  ap- 
pointed; and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  num- 
bers on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice  Pres^ident ;  a  quorum  for  the 
purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators  and  a  ma- 
jority of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no  person  con- 
stitutionally ineligible  to  the  office  of  President,  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States  (i). 

t  Proposed  December  12,  1803 ;  ratified  Sept.  25,  1804. 

$  On  the  first  Wednesday  in  December,  by  act  of  Congress,  March  i,  1792. 

*  Before  the  first  Wednesday  in  January,  by  act  of  Congress,  March,  1792. 

t  On  the  second  Wednesday  in  February,  by  the  same  act. 

(i;  Under  this  provision  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  it  is  impossible  now 
for  any  citizen  not  "natural  born  "  to  become  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  for  all  those  persons  of  alien  birth  who  were  eligible  to  the  Presidency 
by  virtue  of  their  citizenship  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution 
and  fourteen  years' residence  in  the  country,  have  long  since  passed  away. 
The  Succession  Act  of  1886  provides  that  the  line  of  succession  to  the  Presi- 
dency shall  pass  through  certain  Cabinet  officers  therein  named,  but  it  ex- 
pressly disqualifies  any  one  of  these  officers  from  the  right  of  succession  if 
of  foreign  birth. 


192  THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION. 

,  *ARTlCIvE  XIII. 

Section  I— Slavery  Abolished. 

Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punishment  for 
crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within 
the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 
Section  II. 
Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate  legisla- 
tion (i). 

fARTICIvE    XIV. 

Section  I — Citizenship  and  its  Rights. 
All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  subject  to  the 
j  urisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein 
they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the 
privileges  or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Nor  shall  any 
State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due  process  of 
law;  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the 
laws  (2). 

Section  II— Representation. 

Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several  States  according 
to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each 
State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any 
election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  Representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers 
of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the 
male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  or  in  anyway  abridged,  except  for  participation  in,  rebel- 
lion, or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in 
the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the 
whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

Section  III— Disability  of  Persons  Engaged  in  the  Rebellion. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Congress,  or  elector  of 
President  and  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the 
United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath  as  a 
member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of 
any  State  Legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State  to  sup- 

*Proposed  February  i,  I865  ;  declared  ratified  December  18..  1865. 
fProposedby  Congress  June  16,  1866;  declared  ratified  July  28,  1S68. 
(i)  U.  S.  Stats,  at  Large,  vol.  13,  p.  775. 

(2)  100  U.  S.  303,  313,  339  ;  loi  U.  S.  22  ;  109  U.  a  3,  285  ;  iio  U.  S.  516 ;  iii  U. 
S.  701  ;  112  U.  S.  94  ;  113  U.  S.  9,  27,  506,  703 ;  114  U.  S.  606. 


THE   FEDERAL   CONSTITUTION.  193 

port  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection 
or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof; 
but  Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  House,  remove  such  dis- 
ability. 

Section  IV — Payment  of  Public  Debt. 

The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States  authorized  by  law,  in- 
cluding debts  incurred,  or  the  payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for  service 
in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned,  but  neither 
the  United  States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  to  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  in- 
curred in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  claim 
for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave,  but  all  such  debts,  obligations  and 
claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

Section  V. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  by  appropriate  legislation,  the 
provisions  of  this  article  (i). 

*  ARTICLE  XV. 

Section  I — The  Right  of  Suffrage  not  to  be  Impaired. 
The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or 
abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State,  on  account  of  race,  color  or 
previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Section  II. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  approoriate  legis- 
lation (2). 

(i;  U.  S.  stats,  at  Large,  vol.  15,  pps.  709,  711. 

♦Proposed  by  Congress  Feby.  27,  1869,  and  declared  ratified  March  30,  1870. 

(2)  U.  S.  stats,  at  Large,  vol.  15,  p.  346. 


APPENDIX, 


Idaho. 

Constitutional  (i)  provisions  governing  the  electoral 
franchise. 

*ARTICI,E  I. 

Section  20.  No  property  qualifications  shall  ever  be  required  for  any  per- 
son to  vote  or  hold  oflfice  except  in  school  elections  or  elections  creating  in- 
debtedness. 

article:  VI. 

Section  2.  Except  as  in  this  article  otherwise  provided,  every  male  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States,  twenty-one  years  old,  who  has  actually  resided  in 
this  State  or  Territory  for  six  months,  and  in  the  county  where  he  oflfers  to 
vote,  thirty  days  next  preceding  the  day  of  election,  if  registered  as  provided 
by  law,  is  a  qualified  elector  ;  and  until  otherwise  provided  by  the  Legislature, 
women  having  the  qualifications  prescribed  in  this  article,  may  continue  to 
hold  such  school  offices  and  vote  at  such  elections  as  provided  by  the  laws  of 
Idaho  Territory  (2). 

Sec.  3.  No  person  is  permitted  to  vote,  serve  as  a  juror,  or  hold  any  civil 
office  who  is  under  guardianship,  idiotic  or  insane;  or  who  has,  at  any  place, 
been  convicted  of  treason,  felony,  embezzlement  of  the  public  funds,  bartering^ 
or  selling,  or  offering  to  barter  or  sell  his  vote,  or  purchasing  or  offering  to 
purchase  the  vote  of  another,  or  other  infamous  crime,  and  who  has  not  been 
restored  to  the  rights  of  citizenship,  or  who,  at  the  time  of  such  election,  is 
confined  in  prison  on  conviction  of  a  criminal  offense,  or  who  is  a  bigamist  or 
polygamist,  or  is  living  in  what  is  known  as  patriarchal,  plural  or  celestial 
marriage  or  in  violation  of  any  law  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  for. 
bidding  any  such  crime  ;  or  who,  in  any  manner,  teaches,  advises,  counsels, 
aids  or  encourages  any  person  to  enter  into  bigamy,  polygamy,  or  such  patri- 
archal, plural  or  celestial  marriage,  or  to  live  in  violation  of  any  such  law,  or 
to  commit  any  such  crime  ;  or  who  is  a  member  of  or  contributes  to  the  sup- 
port, aid,  or  encouragement  of.  any  order,  organization,  association,  corpora- 

*  Const,  of  Idaho,  1889. 
.  (i)  See  page  89  for  statutory  provisions. 
(2)  See  Legislative  act,  page  89. 


APPKNDIX.  195 

tion  or  society,  which  teaches,  advises,  counsels,  encourages  or  aids  any  per- 
son to  enter  into  bigamy,  polygamy  or  such  patriarchal,  or  plural  marriage, 
or  which  teaches  or  advises  that  the  laws  of  this  State  prescribing  rules  of 
civil  conduct,  are  not  the  supreme  law  of  the  State  ;  nor  shall  Chinese  or  per- 
sons of  Mongolian  descent,  not  born  in  the  United  States,  nor  Indians  not 
taxed,  who  have  not  severed  their  tribal  relations  and  adopted  the  habits  of 
civilization,  either  vote,  serve  as  jurors,  or  hold  any  civil  office. 

Sec.  4.  The  Legislature  may  prescribe  qualifications,  limitations,  and  con- 
ditions lor  the  right  of  suffrage  additional  to  those  prescribed  in  this  article, 
but  shall  never  annul  any  of  the  provisions  in  this  article  contained. 

Sec.  5.  For  the  purpose  of  voting  no  person  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
gained  or  lost  a  residence  by  reason  of  his  presence  or  absence  while  employed 
in  the  service  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  nor  while  engaged  in  the 
navigation  of  the  waters  of  this  State,  or  of  the  United  States,  nor  while  a 
student  of  any  institution  of  learning,  nor  while  kept  at  any  almshouse  or 
other  asylum  at  the  public  expense. 


Mississippi. 

Constitutional  provisions  governing  the  elective  fran- 
chise. 

Tax  limitations  and  educational  and  mental  qualifi- 
cations. 

*ARTICI.E  XII. 

Section  241.  Every  male  inhabitant  of  this  State,  except  idiots,  insane 
persons  and  Indians  not  taxed,  who  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  twenty- 
one  years  old  and  upwards,  who  has  resided  in  this  State  two  years,  and  one 
year  in  the  election  district,  or  in  the  incorporated  city  or  town,  in  which  he 
offers  to  vote,  and  who  is  duly  registered  as  provided  in  this  article,  and  who 
has  never  been  convicted  of  bribery,  burglary,  theft,  arson,  obtaining  money 
or  goods  under  false  pretenses,  perjury,  embezzlement  or  bigamy,  and  who 
has  paid  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  February  of  the  year  in  which  he  shall 
offer  to  vote,  all  taxes  which  may  have  been  legally  required  of  him,  and 
which  he  has  had  an  opportunity  of  paying  according  to  law,  for  the  preced- 
ing two  years,  and  who  shall  produce  to  the  officers  holding  the  election  satis- 
factory evidence  that  he  has  paid  said  taxes,  is  declared  to  be  a  qualified  elec- 
tor ;  but  any  minister  of  the  gospel  in  charge  of  an  organized  church  shall 

*Const.  of  Mississippi,  1890. 


196  APPENDIX. 

be  entitled  to  vote  after  six  months  residence  in  the  election  district,  if  other- 
wise qualified,  (i) 

Sec.  242.  The  I,egislature  shall  provide  by  law  for  the  registration  of  all 
persons  entitled  to  vote  at  any  election,  and  all  persons  offering  to  register 

shall  take  the  following  oath  or  affirmation  :  "  I,  • ,  do  solemnly 

swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  am  twenty-one  years  old  (or  I  will  be  before  the  next 
election  in  this  county),  and  that  I  will  have  resided  in  this  State  two  years, 
and election  district  of county  one  year^iext  preced- 
ing the  ensuing  election  [or  if  it  be  stated  in  the  oath  that  the  person  propos- 
ing to  register  is  the  minister  of  the  gospel  in  charge  of  an  organized  church, 
then  it  will  be  sufficient  to  aver  therein,  two  years  residence  in  the  State  and 
six  months  in  said  election  district]  and  am  now  in  good  faith  a  resident  of 
the  same,  and  that  I  am  not  disqualified  by  reason  of  having  been  con- 
victed of  any  crime  named  in  the  Constitution  of  this  State  as  a  disqualifica- 
tion to  be  an  elector  ;  that  I  will  truly  answer  all  questions  propounded  to 
me  concerning  my  antecedents  so  far  as  they  relate  to  my  right  to  vote,  and 
also  as  to  my  residence  before  my  citizenship  in  this  district  ;  that  I  will  faith- 
fully support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
sissippi, and  will  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to  the  same.  So  help  me 
God."  In  registering  voters  in  cities  and  towns,  not  wholly  in  one  election 
district,  the  name  of  such  city  or  town  may  be  substituted  in  the  oath  for  the 
election  district.  Any  wilful  and  corrupt  false  statement  in  said  affidavit,  or 
in  answer  to  any  material  questions  propounded,  as  herein  authorized,  shall 
be  perjury. 

Sec.  244.  On  and  after  the  first  day  of  January,  A.  D.,  1892,  every  elector 
shall,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing  qualifications,  be  able  to  read  any  section 
of  the  Constitution  of  this  State  ;  or  shall  be  able  to  understand  the  same 
when  read  to  him,  or  give  a  reasonable  interpretation  thereof  A  new  regis- 
tration shall  be  made  before  the  next  ensuing  e.ection  after  January  the  first, 
A.  D.,  1892. 

Sec.  245.  Electors  in  municipal  election** shall  possess  all  the  qualifica- 
tions herein  prescribed,  and  such  additional  qualifications  as  may  be  pre- 
scribed by  law. 

Sec.  247.  The  I,egislature  shall  enact  laws  to  secure  fairness  in  party  pri- 
mary elections,  conventions  or  other  methods  of  naming  party  candidates. 

Sec.  249.  No  one  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  for  members  of  the  Legislature 
or  other  officers  who  has  not  been  duly  registered  under  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  this  State,  by  an  officer  of  this  State,  legally  authorized  to  register  the 
voters  thereof.     And  registration  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  this 

(i)  This  specification  and  the  oath  prescribed  in  the  succeeding  section 
would  seem  to  exclude  every  other  religious  teacher  or  preacher  in  charge  of 
an  organized  religious  body  from  this  special  privilege. 


APPENDIX.  197 

State,  by  the  proper  officers  of  this  State,  is  hereby  declared  to  be  an  essen- 
tial and  necessary  qualification  to  vote  at  any  and  all  elections. 

Sec.  250.  All  qualified  electors  and  no  others  shall  be  eligible  to  office, 
except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  Constitution. 

Sec.  251.  Electors  shall  not  be  registered  within  four  months  next 
before  any  election  at  which  they  may  offer  to  vote ;  but  appeals  may 
be  heard  and  determined  and  revision  take  place  at  any  time  prior  to  the 
election  ;  and  no  person,  who,  in  respect  to  age  and  residence,  would  become 
entitled  to  vote,  within  the  said  four  months,  shall  be  excluded  from  reg- 
istration on  account  of  his  want  of  qualification  at  the  time  of  registration. 

Sec.  253.  The  Legislature  may,  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  both  Houses,  of  all 
members  elected,  restore  the  right  of  suffrage  to  any  person  disqualified  by 
reason  of  crime  ;  but  the  reasons  therefore  shall  be  spread  upon  the  journals, 
and  the  vote  shall  be  by  yeas  and  nays. 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Abridged  Rights  of  naturalized  citizens 36 

Absence  of  an  alien— EflFect  of 25 

Acquired  allegiance 12 

Acquisition  of  Territory— Naturalized  by 9 

Admission  of  aliens  to  citizenship 15 

by  inheritance 7 

by  marriage 8 

by  naturalization 13 

by  territorial   transfer 9 

by  special  legislation 32 

by  admission   of  States  . 34 

Africans  qualified  for  citizenship 15,  41 

Alabama— Electors  in 104 

Office-holding  in 148 

Aliens  admitted  to  citizenship 15 

in  1795 32 

in  1812 33 

in  1872 34 

in  Oregon 34 

in   Nebraska 36,  113 

in   new  States 34,  113 

Alien  criminals  ineligible 49 

office-holders 147,  175 

Powers  of  an 74 

seamen— Naturalization  of 23 

voters 63 

Allegiance  acquired 12 

Natural 12 

not    transferable •  12,  38 

Original— restored 12 

renounced 27 

transferable 9 

Amendments  to  the   Federal  Constitution 189 

American  citizenship i 

classified 2 

defined 3.  35i  192 


200  INDEX. 

Page. 

Annexation  of  Alaska n 

of  California lo 

of  Florida u 

of  IvOuisiana .  .  lo 

of  Texas ; n 

Appendix 194 

Applicants  for  naturalization 16 

Arkansas— Electors  in 104 

Office-holding  in 149 

Australian  ballot    system 146 

Ballot  system— Australian r46 

Election  by 145 

reform 145 

Birth  abroad— Citizenship  by 5 

at  a  foreign  port 5 

at  sea 5 

Inefficiency  of 5 

in  the  United  States 6 

Jurisdiction  essential  at 6 

on  an   American  vessel 5 

overcomes  parental  i.is  bility 7 

Birthright  of  offspring  of  foreign  parents 6 

Birth— The  bond  of 12 

California— Electors  in 105 

Office-holding  in 151 

Carolina,  North — Electors  in iig 

Office-holding  in 157 

South — Electors  in 100 

Office-holding  in 170 

Cession  of  Alaska 11 

of  Florida 11 

of  Louisiana 10 

of  Mexican   territory 10 

Character  qualification  for  citizenship 17 

Children  of  ineligibles   eligible 7 

born  abroad  of  native  parents 5 

born  in  the  United  States  of  alien  parents 6 

Indian— Status  of 7,  46 

Chinese  ineligible 7.  40 

residents— Eligibility   of  children  of 7 

Citizens— Constitutional  rights  of 3 

Federal  rights  of ....  3 


INDEX.  20I 

Citizens—  Page. 

Foreign— as  voters  .    .       143 

ineligible  as  office-holders 147,  175 

ineligible  to  vote 83 

State— Rights  of . 55 

Citizenship— Al  en  criminals  ineligible  to 49 

by  inheritance 7 

by    marriage 8 

by  naturalization 13 

by  territorial  transfer 9 

by  special  legislation 32 

by  admission  of  States 34 

Chinese  children  eligible  to 7- 

Chinese  ineligible  to 7,  40 

classified 2 

Convicts  forfeit 51 

Color  line  in 30 

defined i,  35,  192 

Federal 3 


Forfeiture  of . 


49 


Indians  ineligible  to 42 

State 54 

Colorado— Electors  in 105 

Office-holders  in 151 

Color  disqualification  for  citizenship 40 

qualification  for  citizenship 16,  39 

Columbia — District    of 141 


Government  of. 


142 


Congressional  qualifications  as  to  citizenship 38 

Connecticut — Electors  in 130 

Office-holding  in 151 

Constitution — Federal 177 

Constitutional  provisions  of  States 87 

Continuous  residence  and  naturalization 20 

Convicts'  forfeiture  of  citizenship 51 

Dakota,  North— Electors  in  .... •.■...■...•......  120 

Office-holding  in i68 

South— Electors  in 122 

Office-holders  in 170 

Declaration  of  intention .• 16 

how    made i^ 

invalid j8 

Delaware— Electors  in 130 


202  INDEX. 

Delaware—  Page. 

Office-holding  in 151 

Descent— Right  of 5 

Limitation  of 5 

Deserters    forfeit    citizenship 50 

District  of  Columbia — Government  of 142 

Voters  in 142 

Effect  of  absence  on  applicants  for  naturalization 25 

of  expatriation 53 

of  fraud  in  naturalization 26 

of  interrupted  residence  upon  applicant 22 

of  pardon  on  forfeited  citizenship 51 

Elective  Franchise 61 

Electors — Alien 63 

Disqualifications  as 83 

Indians   as  •  •    • 76 

in  the  District  of  Columbia r4i 

Powers  of  alien 74 

Race  distinctions  in 78 

Territorial • 140 

States  making  aliens 143 

Women    as 79 

Electors  in  Alabama 104 

Arkansas , 104 

California 87 

Carolina  (North) 119 

Carolina  (South) 100 

Colorado 105 

Connecticut 130 

Dakota  (North) 120 

Dakota  (South) 122 

Delaware.  .   .       130 

Florida 88 

Georgia 131 

Hampshire  (New) 127 

Idaho .  ; 89,  194 

Illinois 91 

Indiana. 107 

Iowa 92 

Jersey  (New) 98 

Kansas 108 

Kentucky 125 

lyouisiana 1^,9 


INDEX.  203 

Electors  in—  Page. 

Maine •    •   •   • 92 

Maryland 93 

Massachusetts • 132 

Michigan , no 

Minnesota iil 

Mississippi 94.  I95 

Missouri 112 

Montana 96 

Nebraska 113 

Nevada •  .  97 

New  Hampshire 127 

New  Jersey 98 

New    York 126 

North  Carolina 119 

North    Dakota •  120 

Ohio   .... 99 

Oregon 121 

Pennsylvania , 133 

Rhode  Island 134 

South  Carolina 100 

South  Dakota  . 122 

Tennessee ,^. 137 

Territories 140 

Texas 138 

Vermont loi 

Virginia 139 

Washington 102 

West    Virginia 124 

Wisconsin 123 

Wyoming 128 

Eligibles  to  citizenship 15 

Eligibility  of  aliens  to  hold  office 175 

of  aliens  to  vote 63 

to   Presidency 37,  183 

to  Vice-Presidency 37,  191 

Expatriation — Forfeiture  of  citizenship  by 53 

The  law  of.   .... 53 

False  witnesses  in  naturalization  cases 26 

Federal  Citizenship 2 

Alien  criminals  ineligible  to 49 

by  birth .  6 

by  Congressional  Act ^ 32 


204  INDEX. 

Federal  Citizenship —  Page. 

by  inheritance 5 

by  marriage 8 

by  naturalization 13 

by  territorial  admission 34. 

by  Territorial  cession 9 

by  treaty 31 

Chinese  eligible  to 7)  40 

Chineoe  ineligible  to 7,  40 

Expatriation  forfeits 53 


Forfeiture  of 


49 


Indians  ineligible  to 42 

Indians  made 47 

Naturalized  citizens  lose 12 

Federal  Constitution 177 

Florida— Electors  in 88 

Office  holding  in 152 

Forfeiture  of  rights  by  absence  abroad 25 

of  rights  of  applicant  .    .   , 22 

of  rights  of  citizenship  .    .    .  • 49 

Fraud— Effect  of •  .   .   ,  26 

Georgia — Electors  in 131 

Office-holding  in 152 

Hampshire  (New) — Electors  in 127 

Office-holding  in 166 

Hereditary  Titles 27 

High  Seas— Birth  on 5 

Idaho — Electors  in 89.  194 

Office  holding  in 153 

Illinois — Electors  in 91 

Office-holding  in 154 

Inadmissible — Testimony  in  naturalizing 26 

Indiana— Electors  in 107 

Office-holding  in 154 

Indian  tribes  natviralized 32,  47 

voters  not  citizens 76 

Indians  admitted  to  Citizenship 47 

as  Attorneys 49 

as  office-holders 48 

as  property-owners  . 48 

as  voters 76 

Indians  as  voters  forever  barred  ...    • 102 

in  California .* 77 


INDEX.  205 

Indians  as  voters  forever  barred—  Page, 

in  Florida •  76 

in  Michigan •  .  .  .   .  no 

in  Minnesota 11 1 

in  North  Dakota 120 

in  Wisconsin 123 

Denied  the  Elective  franchise 122 

Ineligible  to  Federal  citizenship - 42 

Status  of  tribal 7 

Ineligible":  to  citizenship 39 

Ineligibility  to  citizenship  of  Chinese 7,  40 

of  criminals 49 

of  Indians 42 

Infamous   Crimes 51 

Iowa— Electors  in 92 

Office-holding  in 155 

Jersey  (New)— Electors  in 98 

Office-holding  in 167 

Kansas— Electors  in 108 

Office-holding  in 156 

Indian  tribes  naturalized  in 32,  47 

Kentucky— Electors    in 125 

Office-holding  in 156 

t,ouisiana  ceded 10 

Electors  in 109 

Office-holding  in 157 

Maine— Electors  in 92 

Office-holding  in 158 

Maryland — Electors  in 93 

Office-holding  in 15S 

Massachusetts — Electors  in 132 

Official-holding  in .    .  159 

Miami  Indians  naturalized 32,  47 

Michigan— Electors  in 92 

Office-holding  in 161 

Minnesota — Electors  in m 

v.ffice-holding  in 116 

Minors— (Alien)   acquire  Citizenship 8 

Mississippi— Electors  in •  94)  195 

Office-hold. ng  in 162 

Missouri— Electors  in 112 

Office-holding  in 164 

Mongolians  ineligible  to  Citizenship 7,  40 


2o6  INDEX. 

Page. 

Montana— Electors  in 96 

Office-holding  in 165 

Naturalization — Aliens  qualified  for 16 

Applicants  for 19 

by  Congressional  Act 32 

by  privilege 29 

by  treaty 31 

Cancelled 12 

Conditions  of 16 

Continuous  residence  and 20 

Eligibles  to 15 

Ineligibles  to 39 

must  be  complete 24 

of  foreigners 13 

of  Indian   tribes 47 

of  minors 31 

of  orphans 8 

of  sailors  in  Navy 30 

of  seamen  in  merchatit  vessels 23 

of  soldiers  . 30 

of  widow 8 

of  wife 8 

without  probation 30 

Witnesses  to 26 

Nebraska— Electors  in 113 

Office-holding  in 165 

Nevada — Electors  in 97 

Office-holding  in 166 

New  Hampshire— Electors  in 127 

Office-holding  in 166 

New  Jersey— Electors  in 98 

Office-holding  in 167 

New  York— Electors  in 127 

Office-holding  in 167 

Nobility— Orders  of 27 

North  Carolina— Electors  in 119 

Office-holding  in 167 

North  Dakota— Electors  in 120 

Office-holding  in 168 

Office-holders— Aliens  as i75 

Indians  as 48 

Office-holding  qualifications 147 


INDEX.  207 

Office-holding  qualifications—  Page. 

in  Alabama 148 

in  Arkansas M9 

in  California 150 

in  Colorado 151 

in  Connecticut     15I 

in  Delaware 151 

in  Florida 152 

in  Georgia ■    ^   •  152 

in  Idaho 153 

in  Illinois i54 

in  Iowa 155 

in  Kansas 156 

in  Kentucky 156 

in  Louisiana 157 

in  Maine .   .    .  ' 158 

in  Maryland 158 

in  Mas.sachusetts 159 

in  Michigan :6i 

in  Minnesota  .... 161 

in  Mississippi 162 

in  Missouri 164 

in  Montana 165 

in  Nebraska 165 

in  Nevada 166 

in  New  Hampshire 166 

in  New  Jer.sey 167 

in  New  York 167 

in  North  Carolina 167 

in  North  Dakota 168 

in  Ohio 168 

in  Oregon 168 

in  Pennsylvania 169 

in  Rhode  Island 170 


in  South  Carolina 


in  Tennessee, 


[70 


in  South  Dakota 170 


171 


in  Texas i^i 

in  Vermont 172 

in  Virginia 172 

in  Washington  .  .    . 173 

in  "West  Virgi;iia 173 

in  Wisconsin 174 

in  Wyoming 175 


208  INDEX. 

Page. 

Ohio— Electors  in 99 

Office-holding  in ' 168 

Ottawas  naturalized 32,  47 

Oregon — Electors  in i^i 

Office-holding  in • 168 

Pennsylvania — Electors  in 133 

Office-holding  in 169 

Peoria  Indians  naturalized 47 

Pottawataniies  naturalized • 32,  47 

Powers  of  Aliens 74 

of  Congress • 34 

of  States 14,  62 

Presidency — Aliens  ineligible  to 37 

Presidential   succession 37 

Privilege — Naturalization  by 29 

Probation— Naturalization  without 30 

Qualificatious  of  aliens  for  naturalization 16 

for  electors 143 

for  legislators 1^5,  168 

for  office-holding 175 

Qualifications  of  Federal  Representatives 38 

of  Federal  Senators 38 

for  office-holding 147 

Race  distinctions  abolished 15,  7^ 

restored 12 

Reform— Ballot 145 

Registration  of  vessels  by  naturalized  citizens 39 

Rhode  Island— Electors  in 134 

Office-holding  in •    •  • 170 

Rights  of  descent  of  citizenship 5 

expatriation 53 

suffrage 61 

Right  of  Federal  citizenship 3 

of  naturalized  citizens  restricted 36 

of  State  citizens 55 

Sioux  Indians  naturalized 48 

.Special  naturalization 47 

South  Carolina— Electors  in 100 

Office-holding  in 170 

South  Dakota— Electors  in 122 

Office-holding  in 170 

State  citizenship 54 


INDKX.  209 

State  Citizenship—  Page. 

definition  of 37 

how  acquired 56 

Stock  bridge  Indians  naturalized 4^ 

Succession  to  Presidency 37 

Suffrage— Aliens  who  enjoy  the 63 

Congressional  powers  over  the 62 

Right  of 61 

State  powers  over  the 62 

Tennessee— Electors  in 137 

Office-holding  in 171 

Territorial  electors .  140 

Office-holders 176 

Texas— Electors  iu 138 

Office-holding  in ^71 

Treaty— Citizenship  by 31,  32,  47 

of  Paris  ....■• -.   .    .       11 

of  Queratero 10 

of  Washington 11 

Tribes  (Indian)  naturalized 32,  47 

United  States  citizenship  defined 192 

Vermont— Electors  in loi 

Office-holding  in 172 

Vessels— Registration  by  naturalized  citizens  of 39 

Vice-Presidency • 37 

Virginia— Electors  in 139 

Office-holding  in  • 172 

Voters • 61 

Aliens  as 63 

Army  officers  and  soldiers  not 83 

California  Indians  as  ....    • 63 

Convicts   not 77 

Duelists  not 84 

Felons  reinstated  as 51,  106 

Idiots  not 83 

Indians— not  citizens 47 

Indians  as ■ 76,  no,  iii,  123 

Indians  not 102,  122 

Ineligibles  as .   .  83 

Insane  persons  not 83 

Marines    not 83 

Marines  in  Missouri  are 83 

Minors  not 83 


2IO  INDEX. 

Voters-  Page. 

Naval  officers  and  seamen   not 83 

Paupers  not 83 

Polygamists  not 83 

Residents  on  Federal  lands  not 134 

Voting  in  District  of  Columbia  . 141 

Territories 140 

Washington— Electors    in 102 

Office-holding  in 173 

West  Virginia— Electors  in 124 

Office-holding  in 173 

Widow  (alien)  naturalized 8 

Wife  (alien)  naturalized 8 

Wisconsin— Electors  in 123 

Office-holding  in i74 

Women  as  electors 79.  128 

denied  the  elective  franchise 103 

in  New  Jersey 79 

in  Wyoming •  79)  128 

Women  as  office-holders 80,  81,  89,  96,  106,  122,  128 

denied  public  office 103 

Wyoming— Electors  in ^28 

Office-holding  in , i75 

York  (New)— Electors  in 126 

Office-holding  in 167 


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